First Timer
by RatchetSS2
Summary: Mirage and Hound have a sparkling, but after Ratchet tells them flat-out no. The stories of danger associated with a sparkling these days don't interfere with the scout and noble's plan; in fact, it starts a whole new generation. (Warning: Slash, graphics, lovey dovey stuff) Also picture the picture of the baby as covered in metal plating. And blue energon. :)
1. The Start of It All

Alrighty. First chapter... hope you like it. I thought it all out for the past week and decided I NEED TO WRITE THIS DOWN. Sooooo here ya go.

May be a bit cheesy at times, but I personally think it's really sweet... Mirage and Hound having a sparkling that's the newest generation in eons, and every mech is oohing and ahing over it. xP

Constructive criticism welcome... and reviews are nice too.

(Also... warning: mechsmut. in about every chapter. hehehe... )

**Basis:** G1

**Pairings:** HoundxMirage, BluexTwins, RatchetxIronhide, ProwlxJazz

* * *

"Blue! DUCK!"

Bluestreak immediately ducked and rolled, not even turning his helm to see what was about to hit him. He heard a jet whiz by overhead, and curled his legs up in a ball as the jet's engine seemed to fly literally micrometers away from his own audio receptors.

He heard a faint yell, one he was sure was Sideswipe's, then another from probably Sunstreaker. After the engine's roar faded away, he onlined his optics and looked around the desert floor, now baren with offlined Decepticons sprawled out everywhere.

The yell he'd heard just a few kliks ago turned into deep laughs. He looked up to see the twins playing their little game of jet judo on Thundercracker and Skywarp... again.

When they eventually flew the seekers into a nearby mountain, they jumped off and rolled down the mountain side.

"Y-You guys okay?" yelled Bluestreak, panting and running over to the two filthy frontliners. He helped Sideswipe up after he fell from landing on the ground, and brushed him off, dust filling up all three's optics and nasal ridges.

"Yeah, Blue. Fine," replied Sunstreaker hoarsely, chuckling.

The three started walking back to the Ark, watching Prowl and Hound walk back from the opposite end. "Looks like you two will need a fresh coat of paint..." said Bluestreak cheerfully.

Sunstreaker smacked his lover on the aft, making his yelp. "When we're done with you, we won't be the only ones."

Sideswipe smirked as Bluestreak let out a nervous chuckle. He knew the lambos always came after him when either, or especially both, just finished working out or building energy, such as from fighting 'Cons. They claimed they just needed to release that energy, but all three knew it was much more. The red twin reached a servo around and pressed into the small of Blue's back where he knew was one of the gunner's hot spots, making him moan quietly.

"Guys, stop... At least wait till we're back on the Ark."

The twins both let out chokey giggles, smiling the whole trip back.

* * *

Hound and Prowl got to the entrance just a little after Bluestreak and the twins did, so they pretty much followed them into the corridor.

"Go on and fix your servo, I'll debrief Prime," stated Prowl.

"Alright, thanks, Prowl."

Hound turned the other direction to the med bay as the tactician headed towards Optimus' office. As he turned the other corner, though, he just about ran into another mech.

"Oh! Mirage! You... almost gave me a spark failure!" exclaimed Hound to the noble.

"Sorry, Hound..." he replied softly, smiling. "Where are you going?"

"To Ratchet... got a busted servo from that recent fight."

"Oh, Primus... are you alright?" he asked, nearly shouting and taking the broken servo in his own.

"Ahh... a-hh yes, 'Raj. I'm fine... just a few seekers."

"Well, I'm coming with you."

Hound smiled at his lover. "Alright."

He walked around and grabbed Mirage's servo with his own good one, the two walking hand-in-hand to the med bay. They could tell they were close by Ratchet's yelling... What happened? they both wondered.

As they got closer, they realized it wasn't yelling in frustration, but merely shouting in pleasure. The doors were locked, and they could hear another voice inside replying to the medic's moans.

"Maybe we should come back later..."

"With a broken servo? Hound, please. We'll wait..." replied Mirage, backing up against the wall and slightly smirking at the thought of what was happening inside the med bay. Hound rested against the wall with him, broken servo practically dead as it laid limp at his side.

The moans eventually quietened, and they heard a deep breath/squeak from a vocalizer inside. Mirage stepped forward and knocked on the doors, pulling Hound towards him.

Soft chuckling came from inside, growing louder as it approached the doors, a faint "stop it" easing forth.

The doors flew open, revealing a smiling Ratchet. "Hi mechs, something wrong?" he asked, gesturing them in as he turned around and walked towards a counter.

"I just busted my servo from taking a swing... nothing much."

Ratchet walked from the counter to the berth Hound sat down on, taking the scout's servo in his own ever so lightly to examine it. "Nothing much?" he repeated. "You nearly wacked your digits right off!"

Hound looked up at Ratchet, optics wide. "Really?"

"Yes, Hound," he answered, chuckling and walking over to the counter to grab a tool. "You're lucky you came right away, or else they would've rusted off."

Hound and Mirage looked at each other, smiling. "I would've come sooner, if the doors weren't locked, Ratchet."

The medic stopped playing with the tool, looking up at Hound. He finally smiled as well, attention back on the servo. "Sorry about that... Ironhide just came to me and, um, locked the doors. Guess he had too much energy from his last recon mission. Slagger..."

"I heard that!" yelled a voice from a separate room on the other side of the med bay. All three turned to look as Ironhide stepped out and walked towards them.

"I didn't say a thing, 'Hide."

"Mhm." he said, tickling the medic's side as he walked around him, making him jump.

"Ironhide, I'm working!"

"Sorry..." he muttered into his lover's audio, slightly licking it. Hound looked over to Mirage, who was smiling back at him. Oh, how he knew that look... as soon as he was done in the med bay, he'd be dragged to the nearest empty room, doors locking behind them.

Ratchet just smiled, pulling away from Ironhide's lips. "I need to finish up on Hound's servo. Give me a minute."

"Alright..." he replied, walking slowly out the med bay doors.

After a few kliks, Ratchet announced he was done. "There. I reattached the digits solidly to the servo. Don't wash them for a few cycles, though. Don't want to have to replace it due to rusting."

"Okay, Ratchet. Thank you," Hound said as he stood up and dragged Mirage out of the med bay.

"See ya, Ratchet," chimed in Mirage as Ironhide stepped back in and shut the doors.

* * *

But Hound was wrong about Mirage.

Instead of doing what he thought he would, Mirage just walked back to the rec room with the jeep.

Hound held his servo with his "new" one, slightly swaying it back and forth as they walked in silence.

"Hound..." he eventually choked out after a while.

"Yes, Mirage?"

"When we were in the city today, patrolling, did you see those kids?"

"I saw kids everywhere, Mirage. Parents too."

"... Exactly..."

Hound looked over at his lover as he held the rec room door open for him. He followed him to the energon dispenser, then sitting across from him at an empty booth.

Mirage barely took one sip of his energon; he mainly just dipped a digit in and swirled it around.

Hound finally broke the silence. "Mirage, what's eating you? You hardly said a word in med bay, and were tense the whole time since I ran into you in the hall. And, why were you asking about the human children?"

Mirage didn't look away from his energon. He just kept swirling it, inhaling and exhaling unnecessary air.

"I... *sigh* I..."

Hound reached out a servo and grabbed Mirage's. "What is it, 'Raj? Tell me." he said, smiling comfortingly.

The two sat there, in silence, Hound looking at Mirage as he played with his energon.

"... I want a sparkling."

Hound's processor took a while to register what Mirage had just said. His optics widened, and his jaw dropped ever so slightly.

Mirage shot a glance up at Hound, then back to his energon, though he glanced back up again as Hound tried speaking.

"... You... A, sparkling?"

Mirage flickered his gaze back down, nodding his helm and smiling. "Yeah. I mean - I... I _wish_ I could... or, _we_ could... have one. A sparkling."

Hound let out a deep sigh, chuckling. "Mirage..." he started, but said mech cut him off.

"I saw those human females, and males too, carrying around little tiny humans. I also saw bigger ones walking around with their creators. They looked so... happy..."

Hound gripped the noble's servo tighter, grin widening. He gripped Mirage's chin with his servo, tilting it up so the Ligier would look him in the optics. "'Raj... you know, a sparkling would be the start of a new generation."

"We _need_ a new generation."

"I know, Mirage. But, during the war might not be the best time for a sparkling."

Mirage pulled away to look back down at his energon. "... I know."

"I'm not saying no, Mirage," said Hound soothingly. "I love that idea. But, he'd just be of large value to the Decepticons - "

"He'd be a value to us, too!" the noble nearly shouted, optics glaring into Hound's.

"I know, I know. Of course he would." he replied, almost in a whisper. Mirage dropped his gaze once more, gripping his energon cube tightly. The two mechs sat in silence for a few kliks, until Hound spoke up again.

"... Oh, Mirage..." he sighed, standing and walking over to Mirage's side of the booth and sitting down next to him. He put a servo around him, pulling him into his side. "Mirage... I told you, I'm not saying no. In fact I'm saying yes more than anything. I'm just pointing out the facts we need to consider."

Mirage shifted into Hound's embrace, pushing his energon away. "I understand, Hound."

The scout kissed the top of his helm, lightly stroking his upper arm.

"...I'm sorry I brought it up."

"What? No... no, Mirage, don't be sorry," said Hound, hugging his lover tighter. "I'm sorry we live during the time where everything has to be thought out, and that we can't do much due to physical barriers."

Hound leaned down to nip at his audio, slowly stroking the arm still. "I really want a sparkling, too," he whispered.

Mirage turned his gaze, looking up at Hound. "Really?" he whispered back.

Hound nodded him helm, smiling again. "Of course. You're right... we need a new generation. I think Bumblebee's the youngest, yet he's just a little less than 100 solar cycles old."

Mirage laughed. "Yes, I believe so..."

"Mmmm." murmured Hound in reply after awhile, nipping at Mirage's neck cables. "I think we should go back to our quarters, though..."

Mirage hummed in agreement, tilting his helm to give Hound better access.

Hound kissed it a few times, then pulled away and stood up, reaching out a servo. "Come on, then."

"I'm comin'..." he mumbled, standing up and following Hound out the doors.

* * *

"Ohhhh... H-Hound..." Mirage gasped, helm thrown back as Hound thrusted upwards deeper.

His valve was unbearably tight, clenching at every thrust, though both mechs' lubricants softened it up.

"Mirage..." was all Hound could make out. His panting grew louder, and soon he was gripping the blue plating above him.

Mirage groaned again and again, climax peaking fast. He felt Hound thrusting harder, anxious to overload, and was soon panting just at hard.

"M-MirAGE!" he yelled, finally overloading hard into the slick, tight valve, thrusting upwards faster and harder. Mirage cried out as the warm transfluid spurted up inside him, filling him all the way.

Mirage finally overloaded after the thick spike repeatedly hit an internal sensor node, and streams of lubricant gushed out all over the spike. Whimpering, he held on to Hound's shoulders, riding the hardened spike as long as he could.

Hound eventually settled down, thrusts relaxing and panting subsiding. "Ooooh... Primus..." he groaned, slumping against the wall behind him.

Mirage collapsed on top of him, and rested his helm against the green chassis. He offlined his optics, just enjoying Hound's presence, and the thick spike still inside him. His cycling of air soon turned into a moan as Hound gently pulled out, and he slumped down on the berth next to the scout.

Neither said anything; Hound stroked the side of Mirage's frame, listening to nothing but the soft cycling of air and their faint engines rumbling.

"Mirage..."

The noble looked up into bright optics starting off in the distance. "Yes?"

"Well... I was thinking about what you said earlier... and, I think we should talk to Prime about it."

Mirage sat up and thunked against the wall. "R-Really? You're considering it?"

"Well, I never said no in the first place. Of course I am. The thought actually crossed my own processor not too long ago."

Mirage smiled and took Hound's servo in his. It took him a while to find a response.

"Hound..." he laughed, making his lover turn and look at him. Hound took his servo and brought it up to his lips, kissing it.

"If you want a sparkling, then I think it's a great idea."

* * *

A burst of energy made Hound online more quickly than usual.

His optics lit the ceiling, and then focused over on Mirage, who was laying next to him and facing the wall, still in recharge.

Hound shifted on his side, lifting a servo and rubbing it across Mirage's side framing. He slid his servo down to his mid-thigh, then back up to the top of his chassis very slowly, nuzzling his faceplate in his neck.

"Mmmmmm..." he murmured softly to himself, offlining his optics. He was too tired to get up now; He just wanted to cradle his lover. Mirage smiled in his recharge state and sunk into Hound's caress, making the scout hold him tighter and more lovingly.

Mirage slowly onlined, but didn't open his optics. He just felt the smooth touches to his frame, Hound breathing hot breath into his neck.

Hound lifted his helm out of the neck cables as Mirage turned his own to look at him, optics now shining brightly. He reached up to kiss Hound on the lips, savoring the quiet, peaceful morning they had woken up to.

Hound pulled away after a short while, smiling down at his bondmate. "Guess what..." he mumbled, nestling his faceplate into Mirage's neck again.

"What..."

"I think I need to talk to Prime today about some things."

Mirage's smile widened, pulling away to get a complete view of Hound's face. "And Ratchet and Prowl, too, I imagine?"

"Oh, yes," he said. "But those are the _only_ mechs. The rest can wait for a surprise. _If_ there's a surprise."

Mirage offlined his optics and rolled over, facing Hound. He brought a servo up to wrap around the jeep, hugging him affectionately.

"Sounds good to me..."

Hound kissed his audio, then his lips again. "I gotta shift soon though. Care to join me for energon?"

"Sure, why not," he mumbled teasingly, following Hound as he sat up and got off the berth. Mirage flexed his framing, stretching stiff cables and wires from recharging.

The two walked out their quarter doors, just in time to meet with Prowl and Jazz.

"Hey, guys!" shouted Jazz, smiling, making Prowl flinch at the sudden noise. "Sorry, Prowler..." he apologized, rubbing his arm soothingly.

"Hi, Jazz," chimed in the two mechs, Prowl merely smiling back at his lover.

"Are you alright, Prowl?" asked Mirage. "You seem a little gloomy."

"Yes, fine, just didn't get a lot of recharge last night with missions and datapads and whatnot."

"Oh... sorry about that." Hound muttered as all four walked into the rec room. Prowl waved it off as they parted, he and Jazz walking towards Bluestreak and the twins, Hound and Mirage walking towards the energon dispenser.

They sat down at a booth, sipping their energon quietly and listening to the peaceful silence, save for the twins' mumbling and the Earth birds chirping outside the open windows.

The sweet silence was soon interrupted by Hound's screen beeping at him, telling him Optimus Prime needed him right away.

"Oh..." he replied to himself, setting down the energon. "I gotta go, Prime needs me. Sorry..."

"It's fine... I'll see ya in a bit," he replied.

Hound smiled as he stood up, reaching out to rub the back of Mirage's neck as he passed him in an "I love you" kind of reply before he left, making the noble shiver in pleasure and smirk.

* * *

"You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Yes, Hound. Take a seat," Optimus answered, gesturing to the empty seat in front of his desk.

Hound did as told, now somewhat nervous that he was the only other mech in the room, being asked to sit in front of the Autobot leader. What had he done? he wondered.

"Hound," he started, looking over a datapad. "I've been trying to read over your last datapads about your missions, but I haven't been able to."

"What?" he interrupted, then realizing he shouldn't have yelled. "Why?" he asked more quietly.

"Well, because there haven't been any to read..."

Hound looked at him with wide optics. "What? W- J- Jazz was... was, supposed to turn them in!"

"I am aware of that, Hound. But you can't rely on other mechs to do both your jobs. I'm not saying Jazz is irresponsible, but you just to need to make sure of these things."

"Yes, sir. May I ask _why_ Jazz didn't turn them in?"

"He was rescheduled to last minute recon duty. Now I won't hold it against you this time, so make sure I get those datapads. Alright?"

"Yes, Optimus. It won't happen again," he replied, standing up and nodding his head in reassurance.

"Alright, thank you, Hound," his leader called back, a slight smile forming under his plate mask.


	2. Unauthorized Permission

Alright, y'all. Permission time. Not much smut in this chapter... I mainly just have Hound jump around, asking for permission from the authorities.

I also explain Mirage's problem again for all you newcomers. SOOOO enjoy!**  
**

**Basis:** G1

**Pairings:** HoundxMirage

* * *

"What did Optimus want?" asked Mirage as Hound entered their quarters. It was now after dark, both mechs finishing their shifts a little later than usual. Hound went straight to their berth, pulling a datapad out from subspace.

"Apparently Jazz was scheduled to recon at the last minute, so he didn't turn in either of our datapads..." he replied. Mirage could tell his lover was upset through the fake neutral look, and tried his best to comfort him.

"Slag," he replied. "I'm sorry, Hound. Are you in trouble?"

"No, no... Optimus said I just need to turn them in asap."

"Oh," he smiled. "That's good. Need some help?"

Hound just looked up from the datapad at his lover. "Sure," he eventually said, smiling brightly at his bondmate. He scooted over so Mirage could sit down next to him, pulling out another datapad and handing it to the noble. "Thank you," he mumbled, leaning over to give him a light kiss on the cheek plating.

"Not a problem."

* * *

The next day, Hound decided he wouldn't ask Optimus about the sparkling.

At least, not yet.

He thought the best mech to ask first, before anything, was Ratchet. He would tell him their conditions, the statistics, what to do, how to do it, things like that. Optimus would just give approval or not. But his second mech, if Ratchet even said yes, would be Prowl, for official statistics, rules, his word before the official word from their leader, etc.

His plan was perfect, he thought. Now if only Ratchet would say yes...

* * *

"No."

"What?"

"I'm sorry, Hound. But I'm afraid it's too dangerous for a sparkling in these times."

"Ratch - "

"Hound - "

"He'd be the start of a new generation!"

"I understand that, Hound. But..." He sighed, putting down the scalpel and removing the visor shield from his optics. "You know about Mirage's condition... a sparkling would merely develop the same problem. Besides, giving birth to the sparkling would just cause an uncontrolled flow of energon, let alone a cycling attack _because_ he couldn't maintain that uncontrolled flow of energon."

Hound of course knew what he was talking about; every mech did. Ever since Mirage was born, the chamber to cycle air to keep energon flowing when they were on other planets, such as Earth, was formed a few inches off. Because of this, whenever he experienced anything causing anxiety, fear, excitement, etc., his energon would flow uncontrollably and he wouldn't be able to cycle it all, thus having a cycling attack. Ratchet said it was exactly like a human's asthma; Mirage couldn't breathe, and it was indeed life-threatening.

"He knows that, Ratchet. That's why you'll be there to help him," he said, smiling slightly to get Ratchet on his side.

But the medic just chuckled and picked up his scalpel. "I'm afraid it's not that simple. And, like I said, he'll just be of extreme value to the Decepticons. He'll be in nothing but danger."

"The Decepticons don't have to know..." he mumbled.

"And how do you plan on keeping it a secret from them?"

"Well, simple. It only takes 8 days for the whole forming process, so he'll be stationed inside when it's noticeable. He'll have the sparkling; we'll make sure Laserbeak or anyone isn't spying, and we'll keep the sparkling well hidden from them."

"...Hound - " he chuckled.

"Ratchet, _please!_ Listen to me! Wh... What if Optimus says yes? It's mainly his decision anyway... Then will you say yes?"

Ratchet thought for a moment. He'd never seen Hound this pleading before... He sighed deeply, setting down the scalpel again, rubbing his closed optics with a servo. "I'm sorry..." he whispered, almost so Hound wouldn't hear him. "But it's for your own good. For the both of you. You can't have the sparkling..."

Hound softly gasped in horror, but neither said a thing. Ratchet onlined his optics and put the visor shield back on, looking up at Hound. "I know that's not what you wanted to hear... But a sparkling is just too valuable. He'd be better off not existing."

Hound felt like Ratchet had just torn out his spark and placed it back in upside-down. It sank at the words... he couldn't believe it. "Ratchet..." he let out, hoarsely, almost in a desperate manner to get the medic to change his mind.

But the medic simply turned back to his project. He'd already hurt the mech, he didn't want to hurt him more. He said nothing, and worked away with his scalpel.

"Alright..." he eventually managed in a whisper. And with that, he left the med bay, doors shutting quietly behind him.

* * *

No, he thought. He wasn't going to let Ratchet ruin his and Mirage's plan like that.

Who was he to say, anyway? He was just the CMO... no authority like Prime or Prowl. Even Jazz was more worthy than him.

He took his time walking down the hall. _*I'm going to ask them anyway,* _he decided. He didn't care about Ratchet's opinion; He wanted to please Mirage, and himself. He wasn't vain, he just _knew_ a sparkling would _help_ the Autobots. He continued walking down the hall, now fully motivated to talk to Prowl about the sparkling.

Hound finally reached Prowl's office. He paged the code, but got no answer. Where was he?

He slowly stepped away from the door, thinking where else he might be. He wouldn't be in Optimus' office... he's out patrolling. _*Jazz's quarters? Nah, they'd just be... you know.*_

_*What about the rec room?*_

Sure, he thought. Might as well try. He turned around and headed for the rec room, which appeared before him before he knew it. He stepped inside; sure enough, there was Prowl.

Talking to Jazz.

_*Great.*_

He slowly approached the laughing mech; it was clear he was enjoying his time with Jazz. He really didn't want to disrupt him, but he had to know his answer!

"Prowl?" he chirped, making Prowl drop his smile and look at the scout. Slag... he thought.

"Yes, Hound?"

"Well, I was actually meaning to... speak with you in private..."

Prowl's smile returned to his face. "Of course, Hound." He looked to Jazz, whispering something into his lover's audio as he stood up, making him giggle again, and followed Hound to an empty booth. Hound sat down rather nervously across from the tactician, who was sitting casually, smiling slightly at Hound. Hound knew, though, that he was just waiting for the talk to be other with so he could spend more off-shift time with Jazz.

_*You're so paranoid.*_

"Well, Prowl, um, Mirage and I were talking - it was actually his idea - about a... sparkling..."

"A sparkling?" he repeated aloud.

"Yes," he smiled, waving his servos in a manner to get him to lower his voice. "What do you think?"

"What do I think?" he exclaimed. "I think that's a great idea, Hound!"

The scout just laughed, clearly not nervous anymore, even if this 'happiness' was an odd behavior from the tactician. "I mean, what do you say? Do you think we can?"

Prowl rubbed a servo on his chin, flickering his gaze down on the table, thinking. "Well..." he started slowly. "I... suppose it would be alright..."

He looked up as Hound smiled. "But don't you think the Decepticons would have a say?"

"Yes... but I already discussed that with Ratchet. We'll make sure he's protected, Prowl."

Prowl kept a firm gaze on Hound, still thinking it through. "And you realize the sparkling would more than likely develop Mirage's cycling condition, correct?"

"Yes, Prowl. We've thought everything through."

Prowl was silent again for a moment, looking at Hound. "You know," he started. "You two are the first to ask me about a sparkling. Others are too scared."

Hound could hint an edge in the SIC's voice. "Wonder why that is..." Prowl finished.

Hound smiled back at the happy tactician. "Guess we've got more guts than the rest of 'em." He obviously knew it was because of what Ratchet was telling him... a sparkling was much too valuable, to both Autobots and Decepticons. Good hostage... rich with energy... defenseless... but also innocent... a new mech to keep the population up... worthy of being historic. He knew Ratchet was right... it wasn't that he cared more about what _he_ wanted than his own sparkling's life, but he was looking at all the positives.

Prowl laughed once more at the scout. "Well then, I'm going to say yes. You said you've asked Ratchet?"

"...Yes, Prowl."

"And he agreed?"

Hound hesitated at first, but knew he had to continue. "...Yes. He agreed."

* * *

Hound honestly could not believe he flat out _lied_ to the SIC of the Autobots. _Plus_ going behind Ratchet's back to get what he wanted. What the Autobots _needed._

His next stop was Optimus. _*If _Prowl_ of all mechs said yes, Optimus should be a piece of energon cake.*_

He walked towards Optimus' office, surprised that his door was left open. He peered inside to see a heated conversation going on between Ironhide and Optimus, but couldn't make out exactly what it was about. He quickly brought his helm away and thunked it against the wall, waiting for the right moment to page the semi.

Just as he was about to press a digit up to his audio, Ironhide walked out and past him, but noticed him standing there.

"..."

Hound smiled.

"...Did you hear any o' that?"

He walked off as Hound shook his helm, and the scout stepped into Optimus Prime's office.

"Excuse me, Prime," he said. "Here are the datapads you requested."

"Ah, thank you, Hound," he replied, reaching out to retrieve the datapads.

"But, um, sir? Do you have a moment? I'd like to speak with you about something..."

"Of course, Hound. Take a seat."

Hound sat down across from Optimus just as the leader did the same.

Hound was silent for a few kliks. He felt so wrong, sitting here, about to ask and get the final word after Ratchet already told him flat-out no.

"Hound?" Optimus asked, watching the nervous-looking mech twiddle his digits.

"Oh, yes, sir. Sorry... But I, um, wanted to ask you... about..." his voice sort of trailed off as he began. Optimus just smiled. Whatever it was was obviously making the scout extremely nervous.

"It's alright, Hound. Just ask me."

Hound looked up at his leader and pushed his servos to his sides, nearly sitting on them. "Well, Mirage was talking about the human children, how they were walking around the town..."

"Mhmm."

"And he... said _he_ wanted one."

"A human child?"

"No," he chuckled. "His own. A sparkling."

"Oh..." he murmured, stroking his chin, just like Prowl. He patted it with his digits, looking off at the wall. Silence filled the room, making the air so thick for Hound he could chop it in half. Relief flooded through his circuits as Optimus began to speak.

"Well... Hound... Have you both considered the issues with having a sparkling? How it will affect you two..._ all_ of the Autobots, the Decepticons?"

"Yes, sir. We have."

Optimus looked back at the wall, digits still on his chin. "What about Mirage's cycling condition?"

"We've established that as well, sir."

Optimus was silent, clearly thinking it thoroughly. "If I may, Optimus," Hound spoke up after a few kliks. "As you may as well know, a sparkling would start an entire new generation of Autobots."

"Yes... I was just thinking about that..."

Silence again.

Hound found himself nervously playing with his digits again, and pushed them aside once more. He looked down at the desk in front of him, but jerked his helm up right as Optimus began to speak again.

"Hound," he started questioningly. "Have you spoken with Ratchet about this?"

"...Yes sir."

"And he approved?"

Hound sighed slightly to himself. "Yes," he lied. "He approved." He was so thankful his leader had gone back to staring off in the distance as his own cheek plating began to heat up. He was definitely nervous now... He couldn't believe he was in this situation. Maybe he should come clean...

"Alright Hound," he heard, and looked up, guilt long gone. "I will permit your sparkling."

Hound smiled brightly at the words. He was no longer considering giving up his chance for a sparkling. "Thank you, Optimus," he chirped.

"But, you must promise me you will protect the sparkling at _all_ times, understood?"

"Yes, of course."

"When would you like for me to tell the others?" he asked, making Hound's smile drop.

"T-Tell the others? Why?"

"Well, a new sparkling is entering the Ark, the others are bound to know sooner or later. Might as well announce it rather than keeping it a secret until a mysterious little mech is running around, don't you think?"

"I suppose..." he agreed. "I'm not sure, Optimus. Wait until he's actually pregnant, of course, but then I guess, 6 days after?"

"Alright, whatever you want," he nodded in reply. "Sounds good, Hound. Congratulations," he teased.

Hound chuckled. "Thank you sir," he said, standing up and saluting, turning to walk out the doors.

"Oh, and Hound..."

"Yes?" he said, turning back around just before he was out the doors.

"You talked to Prowl about this, correct?"

"Yes sir. He too approved."

Hound could tell Optimus was smiling under his guard mask. "Alright. Thank you."

He smiled back, anxious to tell Mirage the good news. Even if part of it _was_ a lie...

_*Quit thinking about it...*_ he told himself as he walked down the hallway to the rec room. _*Everything will be fine.*_

He knew Mirage was off-shift right now. He walked faster to get to the rec room before he started his next shift, and before he himself did too. When he finally reached the rec room, there was Mirage, chatting away with...

Ratchet.

Of course.

He let out a deep sigh, though he was screaming on the inside. He prayed that neither had mentioned the sparkling to one another... then the sparkling would never happen, and he'd have to come clean with the medic, Prowl, _Optimus_, and his own lover.

Lucky for him, Ratchet stood up and announced he was just leaving as Hound approached them with trembling servos and pedes. "Sorry I missed ya, Hound," he said, not noticing the shaking. "Mirage and I were just talking about his cycling condition."

"O-Oh..." he laughed nervously, thankful it wasn't sparkling-talk. "Well, what about it?"

"I just asked him if the last antidote I gave him worked. That's all."

"Oh," he repeated, smiling at Mirage. "Did it?"

Mirage smiled back and nodded with pride. "Very much so."

Ratchet slid behind the scout to leave. "I'll see you guys later," he mumbled, leaving rather quickly back to med bay. Hound watched him leave, trying to not think about his lying behind the nice medic's back. He slowly sat down across from Mirage, who was sipping his energon quietly, looking back at Hound.

"Something wrong?"

"What?" he jumped, looking up with wide optics. "Oh, no, 'Raj. I'm fine. I have some news for ya, though."

He grabbed his servo and kissed it, smiling brightly back at the beautiful noble. "What?" he asked, smiling at what he thought Hound was going to tell him.

"They said yes..." he whispered, putting aside the lie in his CPU. He watched Mirage's optics widen and smile along with his mouth, clenching the servo in Hound's grasp.

"Really?" he let out after a few breathless kliks. "They... We can?"

Hound nodded solemnly, kissing the servo again. He could tell he was speechless... "When do you get off-shift for the joor?" he laughed out, teasingly yet kinkily.

"In two cycles... you?"

"Two cycles," he laughed along with Mirage.

"Fantastic..." he whispered, standing up and kissing his cheek plating. "I'll see you then."

Hound stood up behind him, following him to the energon counter to dispose of his cube and out of the rec room. "Can't wait..." he whispered into Mirage's audio once they were out in the hall, kissing it, and turning his helm to kiss his lips. Mirage smirked, humming in agreement.

And from there, they parted their separate ways to finish their shifts for the joor. After all, the faster they started, the faster they finished, and the faster they could get to work.

* * *

Mirage huffed as he hit the wall, Hound shoving him into it as he claimed his lips once again.

The scout was barely able to contain himself through the whole two cycles, let alone the closer he and Mirage got to their quarters. He dove for him before they even stepped pede in the door, Mirage playing back and throwing Hound on the floor, both falling and kissing each other senseless as the doors shut behind them.

He already overloaded once due to Hound's kinky digits. Sparkmerging was tricky, though; Hound knew he had to make Mirage overload at least three times before the "big" one, but they had to connect their sparks as soon as he did so it would work properly, and then the sparkling would begin to form.

Like he also knew, instead of human females taking 9 Earth months for the entire process to take place, Autobots took only 8 Earth days. Femmes, being as rare as they are, were even more advanced, taking only 6 days.

The best part about being pregnant though, according to the lover, was all the overloading.

It was extremely important that the mech who was pregnant overloads at least 5 times a joor, the reason being similar to a human female producing milk. The energon flowing through the Autobot's frame changes to a more silky, condensed formula, especially made for the sparkling to drink once it was born. The partner would preserve the saved transfluid in a cooler, located in the rec room, where it would be ready for the sparkling whenever they needed it, since neither could produce anymore once the sparkling was out.

He groaned at the thought of Mirage constantly overloading... He felt himself sinking down to the floor again, Mirage following. The noble groaned as Hound traced the rim of his valve again, the scout swiping his glossa inside every inch of his mouth. Mirage started bucking into Hound's digits slightly, anxious to overload once more.

Panting, Hound picked him up and laid him one the berth gently as he lovingly played with his lips with his own. Mirage reached both servos around to capture Hound's helm and bring it closer to him, both tilting to deepen the kiss. He suddenly felt those hot digits play with his valve again, and shuddered as Hound thrusted them inside past the platelets. "Oh..." he gasped. "Hound..."

Hound just giggled, nibbling his lips. He added another digit, thrusting faster until Mirage was writhing under him, keening in desperation. "Hound... I... I'm..." he panted.

Mirage's backstrut arched off the berth as he overloaded his second time, bucking slightly up into his lover's frame, riding the digits as long as he could. He grasped onto Hound's shoulders as he felt his transfluid spill out over the digits and berth, not letting go until the overload subsided. He started to whimper, Hound nibbling lightly on the Ligier's neck cables.

"Just tell me if it's too much for you, alright?"

Mirage nodded. He knew Hound always worried about his cycling condition; If Mirage got too excited or energetic, he wouldn't be able to cycle air properly. Which would not be good at this time. Hound kissed his lips once more, and slid away, making Mirage wonder where he went.

He nearly jumped as he felt mysterious, soft servos wrap around his midriff and pull him backwards. Hound sat at the head of the berth, leaning somewhat against the wall, setting Mirage in his lap, his back resting against the scout's chassis.

"How about the way you like it, hmm?"

Mirage laughed and nodded again, spreading his legs for Hound to have much better access. Hound smiled in delight, licking intently across the base of Mirage's neck. He aligned his throbbing spike up with Mirage's now-soaked, tight valve, rubbing the tip against the entrance and earning a mewl from the noble. He heard a soft gasp as he pushed his spike forward, groaning at the feeling of the incredibly tight valve clenching hard around it.

Once he was deep enough, he started to thrust, gently but fast. "Ahh.. Oh... Oh, Hound..." Mirage panted, grasping onto Hound's hip plates for support as his frame rocked with Hound's jerky movements. Hound said nothing, just quietly grunted here and there at the kinky angle he was in. Mirage, if it was possible, felt his own temperature spike drastically at the position, and clawed his servos into Hound's armor.

"Oohhh..." he groaned out, thrusting harder and more passionately into Mirage. He held onto his hip plating, tossing his helm back so it hit the wall with every thrust. "Mirage... Nnngg... I- I'm there..."

Mirage cried out as he felt the transfluid shoot out from Hound's spike up into his clenching valve, Hound thrusting harder and harder until he made Mirage finally overload as well. The noble cried out again and bucked wildly into the air, Hound's hips giving him his only support, as transfluid continued to flood his internals.

When the pleasure eventually died down, Hound nipped at his neck plating lazily. "That's... three times..." he panted, though wanting so much more. He retracted his spike as Hound turned his whole frame around to face him, leaning in to kiss his neck. "How do you want to do this?"

"Just like this..." he answered, glossa tracing cable patterns in his neck. "Just, take me now..."

Hound smiled as he kissed the opposite side of Mirage's neck. "Alright... whatever you want."

He stroked the noble's hip plating with his thumb as he aligned his spike up with Mirage's valve, moaning slightly as he pushed forward the tip until it passed through the platelets. Mirage gasped as he felt the tip extend further and further, optics fixed on the wall behind the berth, but his attention suddenly focused on Hound when he felt the tip finally hit his main sensor node.

Hound chuckled at Mirage's cry. He pulled out a bit, giving Mirage's valve time to stretch before he thrusted. He shoved the spike back in, forcefully, making Mirage mewl as he repeated the action.

"Hound..." he whispered breathlessly, grabbing the back of Hound's helm with a servo. "Please..."

Hound nodded in reply; he knew exactly what Mirage wanted. He needed to overload hard for the sparkling to take form, and doing so would require a hard frag. Which is exactly was he liked. Nearly all the time... Hound didn't think he'd ever been with a mech who was so kinky.

He picked up a constant, fast pace, making the noble shake with his movements. Hound grunted softly to himself with each hard thrust, sweat starting to seep from his forehelm. Mirage loved it when he sweated like that; it was showing how hard he was going, besides the feel of the erected spike fragging him into oblivion.

Mirage found himself panting, gasping deeply with every thrust. Hound looked up into the hazed optics, wondering if his bondmate was entering another cycling attack. Mirage just looked down back at him, smiling as he panted and shaking his helm.

Reassured, the scout picked up the pace, thrusting harder and more intently into the clenching valve. He saw that Mirage was by now a gasping mess; energon sweat poured from his faceplate, panting loudly, gasping at every hard thrust. Oh yes, he thought. This would definitely be a big one.

Mirage keened and tossed his helm back, desperate mewls escaping his vocalizer. Hound was pounding him so hard that his valve actually started to hurt, his overly-erected spike striking every sensor node possible simultaneously.

"I... HOUND!" he yelled, so close to overload he wanted to cry. Hound merely grunted softly, clutching onto his hip plating as Mirage grasped onto his shoulders, digits digging into seems and making Hound moan louder.

The jeep couldn't stand it much more; he shifted downwards a little so his painfully-hard spike would hit at another angle, and finally get Mirage to overload. Mirage leaned down, bringing back his helm and offlining his optics, almost struggling to ride the throbbing, hot spike. "Come on, 'Raj..." he heard him pant. "O- Overload..."

"I-I can't..." he gasped, keening as his valve clenched ridiculously tight and wildly around Hound's spike. "Pump it..." he demanded.

Hound shot a servo up and clenched it around Mirage's spike, forcefully pumping it up and down. Mirage's panting grew louder, followed by a cry from Hound from the noble's valve clenching so tight. Mirage bucked, almost forgetting to open his spark chamber.

Hound slid his open as well, two blue-glowing orbs lighting up the room. Mirage continued whimpering, sweat dripping off of Hound's forehelm as he thrusted harder and faster until something happened...

"H-Hou... HOUND!" Mirage cried out the loudest he had all night, bucking wildly and optics nearly tearing up as he overloaded quite hard, his spike spurting transfluid all over Hound's servo and their equipment. The unbearably-tight hole had the scout thrusting unbelievably hard, until his own spike erupted with transfluid and shot up inside Mirage in multiple thick spurts. Mirage was so desperate for more; he shot two digits down and pounded Hound's valve, making him mewl and buck hard into his lover. Hound had to quick use all his energy to ignore the sensation and bring a servo up to Mirage's backstrut, pulling him towards his spark, merging their sparks together as Mirage cried out again at the too-wonderful sensation.

Mirage's heavy bucking lessened, Hound's moans quieting down as their sparks encased each other, until they formed one big orb. The single mass floated between them, then split into two separate sparks and returned to their chambers. The sudden feeling of the new spark made Hound overload again, transfluid spilling out as Mirage entered his second, or fifth total, overload.

Again he bucked wildly, riding the spike, bouncing up and down on it as Hound pumped the noble's. He loved the feeling of his large spike filling his small valve... right now it was unbelievable.

Hound huffed out his overload, eventually satisfied and lessening his thrusts, relaxing his grip on Mirage's slick spike. "W..Ooohhhh..." he stuttered. "Sweeeet Primus..."

Mirage's panting finally subsided, and loosened his hold on Hound's shoulders. His spark was throbbing... it felt so strange, he thought. He brought the digits up from Hound's valve to brush against his lips, Hound licking them playfully and tasting himself. The Ligier leaned in after he pulled the digits away and kissed him passionately, feeling so good after five amazing overloads. Hound brought a servo up to caress Mirage's helm, stroking the back peacefully.

"Do you feel okay?" he asked in a panting whisper.

Mirage smiled and nodded, catching his breath. Hound pulled his helm towards him and kissed him on the cheek plating, making Mirage smirk.

But Hound immediately let go when Mirage made a funny gurgling noise and brought a servo up to his own mouth. "'Raj? What is it?"

Mirage just shook his head, thinking the feeling had passed. He removed his servo, only to bring it back up again and wiggle himself off of Hound's spike, jumping off the berth as he shut his panel and running to their wash room.

He knelt down next to the wash rack and purged his tanks, gripping his abdomen with one servo as he supported himself on the floor with the other. Hound ran in behind him, startled at the sight.

"Mirage!" he yelled, kneeling down to hold him better as he purged a second time.

Eventually the noble stopped, but kept his helm hanging over the wash rack flooring. Hound stroked his backstrut lovingly, helping Mirage sit up straight after he was sure he was finished. "Are you okay now?" he asked, smiling at his lover.

Mirage nodded. "Yeah," he panted. "I think so."

"Well..." Hound started after a klik or so, making Mirage turn to look at him. He grabbed a nearby wash cloth and wiped the excess purging off his lips.

"What?" he asked, smiling after Hound threw the cloth into the wash rack.

"At least we know it worked..." he whispered in reply.


	3. Gone

Btw, a 'vorn' is approx. 83 years, in case that wasn't in the time interpretations in the other story :)**  
**

I'm also gonna pretend Screamer's got those foot-long digits like in TFPrime in this G1 story, so pretend along with me.

SO INTENSE. I like it. Hope you guys like it too.

**Basis:** G1

**Pairings:** HoundxMirage, RatchetxIronhide

* * *

**Day 1 **

Mirage onlined very slowly, optics taking a while to focus on the ceiling above him.

He felt Hound's arms stir under his frame, his frame snuggling closer and wrapped his other arm tighter around the noble's front. Mirage smiled at the warmth, offlining his optics again.

But then he felt that dreaded churning in his tanks again... He shot a servo up to his mouth and literally ran to the wash room, purging into the wash rack flooring. He knelt himself down on his knees, thankful it was only the one time. Hound walked in behind him, kneeling down and holding him around his backside.

Cycling air deeply, he managed to speak after a klik or so. "...Please don't tell me I'll be doing that for eight joors straight..." he rasped.

Hound chuckled and helped him stand up. "No, only the first few. I'd say not even two more joors."

He helped him stumble over to their berth and sat him down on the edge. "Wait here; I'll get you some energon."

Mirage waited patiently as his lover walked to the rec room. It seemed like he hadn't even left by the time he returned, a cube of bright purple in his servo and reaching out to him. He took the energon and nearly chugged it, making Hound laugh at him.

"Thirsty, are we?"

Mirage swallowed. "Very, actually. I don't know why... And my reproductive chambers feel funny..."

Hound chuckled again. "Gee, I wonder why..." he teased as he sat down next to him.

Mirage smiled and swung back the last of his energon, Hound pulling out a subspaced wash cloth and wiping the purging off his lips again.

"You're starting to treat _me_ like the sparkling..." he said, trying to pull away from Hound's servo.

"Fine, I'll just let you walk around base with dried purging on your faceplate."

Hound eventually wiped off all of the purging, walking towards the wash room and throwing it in the sink.

"Prime said he'd announce the news to the others after six days," he stated as he walked back.

Mirage nodded, standing up as Hound neared him. "Alright."

Hound just looked him over. "Do you feel alright?"

The noble gulped, nodding again. "Yes, a little lightheaded. That's all... I'll get used to it."

"Hm.. alright..." he replied, still not sure that he was. "Well, I'll go tell Optimus then."

"Alright, I've got to start my shift soon anyway."

"Okay," he whispered, lightly kissing him playfully on the lips. "I'll see you later then."

Mirage smiled and kissed back, both mechs parting their separate ways down the hall as they exited their quarters.

* * *

"Good morning, Optimus."

Optimus looked up at the mech who entered his office, faceplate lighting up. "Hound! Good morning, what news have you to tell?"

"Well... " he started as he sat down. "It looks like it worked."

Optimus' smile under his guard mask grew wider. "Fantastic! Happy to hear it. How is Mirage?"

"He's great. Great..." he trailed off. "He went on to his shift, which is where I should be going too."

"Of course," he replied, allowing the scout to leave. "Thank you for the update, Hound. I'm glad everything's doing alright."

Hound smiled as he left the office. His shift actually didn't start for another cycle... he just had to get out of there. Ever since Optimus asked about Mirage, his spark seemed like it was throbbing. He felt guilty again; he realized Ratchet would be absolutely mortified if he found out Hound had betrayed him for his own pleasure. But it was too late now... what was Ratchet even going to say? He hadn't even thought about that... the medic would be the one to fragging _deliver_ the sparkling. They'd be visiting him at least every other joor... Slag, he thought. He knew he was in trouble.

He'd just hopefully be able to leave it to Prime when he arranged the meeting with few specific Autobots before he announced it to every other mech, which included Ratchet, Prowl, Jazz, Wheeljack, Hound himself, and possibly Perceptor. Not even Mirage would join... which he was actually more than thankful for.

* * *

Mirage slowly staggered towards Jazz into the open field, servo on his helm and optics fairly dull.

"You alright there, 'Raj?" he heard in that chipper voice suddenly merely five feet away from him.

"What?" he pitched, looking up. "Oh, um, no, I-I mean yes. Yes, Jazz. I'm fine."

Jazz just smiled cheesily at the noble. "Are ya now.." he replied, turning back and kneeling on the ground, firing his laser gun at a metal dummy 50 feet down from the cliff below them.

"Yes, Jazz. I assure you, I am fine."

"Well, here, then..." he said, standing back up and handing him a gun. "Get shootin'."

Mirage slowly reached out for the gun and grasped it. He knelt down beside Jazz and fired, nailing the Decepti-dummy right in the spark.

Just then, a chunk of cardboard with Cliff and Bee's painting of a Decepticon shot up out of the ground behind Mirage, making him shout in shock and nearly fall off the cliff. Two more popped up behind Jazz, the saboteur detaching the main barrel to create it's secondary form, shooting at the cardboard with a gun in each servo.

Mirage's cardboard unfortunately managed to swivel left and right, making it next to impossible for him to shoot at it with his trembling servo. He stood up and jumped for him, hearing Jazz's muffled shouts from behind.

He snapped of the 'Con-board's head, ripping off both arms just as another popped up in front of him. He looked up right when he clawed a hole into the first's abdomen, but barely got a good look before Jazz shot it just below the neck.

Mirage gasped at the noise, his processor hurting now more than ever. He slid off the cardboard and stood up on wobbly pedes, making his way towards Jazz.

"Is that all of them?" he panted.

"I think so..." he replied, also breathless a little. "What - "

But that was all he could respond before he saw Mirage fall to his knees and purge his tanks off the side of the cliff.

"Ah... slag..." he murmured to himself, and quickly knelt down beside him, rubbing his backstrut comfortingly. "Primus, Mirage..." he said eventually after Mirage quit purging. "And you say nothin's wrong with you..."

Mirage continued panting as he sat on his knees, looking beyond the cliff. "I... I'm fine..." he gasped, servo clenching Jazz's supporting one almost subconsciously. "Just... "

He couldn't even tell the saboteur what was really up with him. Hound didn't want anyone to know... yet.

"Just what?" Jazz asked. "Primus, you act like you're fraggin' carrying or somethin'."

Mirage just looked over at Jazz. "Th-That's ridiculous, Jazz," he laughed nervously. "I guess the boards just scared me..."

"Which is why I'm wondering what's up with you. But, um, I guess you're done for the day; why don't we go back to base... have Ratch check ya over - "

"NO!" he exclaimed, making Jazz give him a look. "I, um... That, won't be necessary."

Even though Hound was the secret-keeper, Mirage didn't want _any _mech to know as well. Hound told him to keep it a secret for a few days... He figured everyone would find out somehow.

Jazz tried to speak, and eventually got the words out. "Well... a-alright then, but then let's at least head back to the Ark, okay?"

Mirage nodded as Jazz helped him up. "You got it?" he heard, and nodded again.

Jazz cautiously let go of the noble, picking up the guns and walking by his side all the way back.

* * *

"Hey," he heard, Hound's soft voice coming up from behind him. He felt the servos wrap around his abdomen and pull him behind into Hound, somewhat startling the noble.

"Oh... hi," he whispered in a smile. The warm water sprayed his faceplate from above, trickling down his frame and over Hound's servos. It felt so good, he thought. He needed it, too; a good hot wash would always help soothe pain, relax a mech, or simply get them clean.

And Mirage needed all three.

Hound nestled his faceplate into Mirage's neck, tickling his stomach plating the way he liked it. Mirage giggled and sank into the hold, causing Hound to smile and kiss his neck. That was one of the things he liked about Mirage: he was a noble. Nobles were rare; in fact, Mirage was the only one left, let alone the only one out off all the Autobots. This rarity had its advantages, though, like how Hound considered him being ticklish in the abdomen an advantage.

This sparkling, he knew, would be an interesting one.

"What's wrong?" asked Hound after noticing he was quieter than usual.

"Hm? Nothing... nothing's wrong."

Hound continued rubbing Mirage's abdomen, and the noble was actually thankful that few mechs were in the wash room and not paying them any mind.

"Mhm..." he replied, face still nestled in his neck. "Tell me."

Mirage sighed and reached up to hold Hound's servo with his own. "Um, I was fulfilling my shift with Jazz today, and these fragging Decepti-cardboards popped up out of nowhere and scared the scrap out of me."

"Mhmmm."

"I... purged... and I thought Jazz would figure out the real issue..."

Hound pulled away from the noble's neck. "Did he?"

"No, I told him the boards just scared me... I actually don't think he cared why. You know how paranoid I am..."

Hound chuckled. "Yes, I know. But I love ya anyway."

Mirage smiled and turned around. "Now, let me be so I can finish washing... then I'll join you in our quarters."

Hound smiled back kinkily, nodding and drying off the little water on his front and walking off.

* * *

"You know," Hound panted. "I wonder what happened to Jazz's sparklings..."

Mirage gasped at the sudden jerk. "I... *huff* I didn't know he had sparklings..."

"Oh..." he huffed as Mirage's valve clenched tighter around his spike. "Yeah, he and Prowl had twins vorns ago... Probably before you were an Autobot actually."

Mirage was silent. He just enjoyed the feeling of that thick spike filling him up, thrusting harder and faster to get him to overload. He also was pretty surprised... Jazz was a creator? He had no idea; the thought made him wonder if Jazz really _could_ tell if something was up with him, since he himself experienced the same thing a while back.

Finally he keened, bucking harshly into Hound and gasping desperately as he overloaded. Hound had to ignore the wonderful feeling of that beautiful valve clenching unbelievably tight around his spike and cupped the container around Mirage's. The transfluid shot out into the container, and Mirage eventually lowered himself back down on the berth, panting quietly.

Hound, cycling air deeply, lidded the container and placed it on the side table next to the other two. He looked back over at Mirage underneath him and smiled, feeling his spike still throbbing inside the tight valve. "That's three..." he stated, Mirage smiling up at him through a panting mouth.

"I think three's good enough, don't you?"

"C'mon, one more... then we'll be done."

Mirage groaned in both annoyance and pleasure, only to have his bondmate speak again. "You know we have to do this as much as physically possible..."

"I know..." He shifted up so he laid at a new angle.

"It's for the sparkling..." Hound whispered into his audio as he kissed it.

"I know," he repeated, still smiling.

The smile soon turned to a moan as he felt Hound's spike start thrusting again, realizing he never took it out. "Ahh..." he groaned, his climax peaking fairly quickly. His upper back plating hit the wall with every thrust, and he noticed sweat started to emerge from Hound's forehelm.

Mirage gripped his shoulders, giggling in pleasure at the feeling and sight of Hound's rough movements. He could feel his overload coming... he started to buck into Hound, making the scout thrust back more forcefully.

Mirage overloaded hard and silent, save for one gasp. Hound thrusted uncontrollably into the clenching valve, the hole so tight it nearly hurt his spike. He forced himself to not overload inside Mirage yet so he could trap the transfluid, placing the fourth container on the tip and letting Mirage buck into it. He finally released his energy, overloading hard with thick spurts of his own 'fluid shooting up inside the noble.

Both mechs panted as the pleasurable sensation subsided, and Hound dropped the container on the side table. He retracted his spike and shut his panel, sliding off of Mirage and laying down next to him. He looked over at Mirage as the noble brought a servo up to his mouth, but pulled it away.

"Are you going to purge again?" he asked.

Mirage shook his head. "No, I think I'm fine..."

Hound wearily wrapped a servo around his shoulder and pulled him towards him, wrapping his other servo around his abdomen. He spread his digits so they fanned out across the center, right above the sparkling.

"Can you feel anything yet?" he teased.

"Not quite, considering it's only been a joor," he chuckled.

Hound kept his smile as he looked at Mirage, then kissed his cheek plate. "I'll be back..." he murmured into Mirage's audio receptor, and stood up off the berth to gather the energon and store it in the cooler.

...

When he got to the rec room, he was thankful that no other mechs were there. It was pretty late anyways, and mechs who were online still were on shift. He strolled over to the cooler and took out a lidded pitcher from the nearby cabinet, dumping the formulated energon into the jug. He quickly placed it in the cooler, shutting the door and turning to walk out of the rec room.

"Hello, Hound," said Ratchet right as the scout turned around, making him jump out of his frame. "What are you doing?"

"Oh! H-Hello, Ratchet, I, um... I, needed some energon ice... Mirage wasn't feeling too good..."

"Oh," the medic nodded reasonably. "I see. I'm free if he needs me - "

"No, no, that's fine... he's fine... But thank you anyway."

Ratchet started to look at Hound suspiciously. He opened his mouth to speak as he slowly walked around him towards the energon dispenser and slid a fresh cube under the trigger, Hound watching him worryingly. "Hound - "

"Well, actually, I need to get back to Mirage," he exclaimed nervously as he started walking out the door.

"Right... Of course, Hound. Good night..."

"Night," he heard Hound call back. That was awful strange, he thought. Normally Hound wasn't so jumpy...

He knew the cooler hadn't been full of ice for orns. He was just playing along, wondering what the scout was really up to. He wasn't even carrying ice, and any mech knew better than to subspace energon ice. Surely he... _nooo_... he _wouldn't_... would he? Go behind his back... not for something that extreme, he figured.

But he had to know.

He walked towards the cooler, sipping at his energon cool-like, and opened the door.

Sure enough, no ice. Just everything he saw last time... his and Wheeljack's section with specific concoctions, antidotes, etc., a small pitcher, preserved energon cubes, a larger pitcher...

"What?" he asked himself quietly, reaching in to grab the larger pitcher with one servo. He set his energon down on the counter, and brought the pitcher up to his faceplate and smelled it.

"Smells like energon..." he told himself. He hadn't seen the pitcher before... and he'd just stored a backup antidote in there two joors ago. He slowly gripped the top with two digits, cautiously lifting up the lid to peer inside and see what Hound was hiding from him, when the Decepticon alarm rang throughout the Ark.

* * *

Mechs ran everywhere.

Blaster's voice blared over every intercom, stationing mechs to their posts.

Optimus rolled through the main entrance, followed by Prowl, Jazz, and Bumblebee. "Autobots!" he called to the other surrounding mechs who ran out the entrance. "Prepare for battle! We do not know what Megatron's status is at this time."

Several mechs called back approvingly. Optimus then held his digit up his audio receptor to receive Red Alert's link, telling him few Decepticons were attacking a nearby water plant. The leader gestured with two digits north, the watching Autobots following him as he transformed and drove away towards the city.

* * *

"Stay here!" Hound commanded.

"No, Hound! I'm fine! I need to go... what are the others going to say if they think I'm perfectly alright?"

"It doesn't matter what they think," he replied as he struggled to leave their quarters without Mirage following him. "Optimus and Prowl know. They're the only ones who matter."

Mirage practically glared at the scout. "Hound, _please_..."

Hound really didn't have time for this. The mechs were probably wondering where he was... He needed to be out kicking Decepticon tailpipe! he told himself. He let out a deep sigh, nearly standing outside the quarter doors. "Alright..." he breathed. "Fine, 'Raj. But not when I say you're _not_ fine... got it?"

Mirage nodded and ran after Hound down the hallway, both exiting the entrance just as Ironhide ran back in without his arm, a thick trail of energon falling behind him.

But neither seemed to pay him any mind.

* * *

"R... Ratchet..." he gasped as he stumbled inside the med bay.

Ratchet turned around to face the gasping mech, and nearly dropped his knife as he gasped aloud, optics widening.

"Ironhide..." he said, running towards him and catching him just before to toppled over. He lead him to a berth and sat him down on the edge, quickly hooking up an energon cable to his main vital port in his chassis. "What the _slag_ happened?" he yelled in frustration.

"I... I'm... not sure..." he panted. "I shot at Starscream and somehow he nailed me in the shoulder, then another swiped me in the same spot right after. I couldn't even get a good look at the 'Con... I just fell to the ground."

"Oh, and you just thought you could run back here? Look at all the energon you've lost!" he practically screamed at the warrior.

"Ratch..." he panted, gripping his shoulder in pain as Ratchet pumped more energon through his frame and bolted a temporary cover over the gap. "I'm sorry... Why make myself more vulnerable to those Decepti-bums by just laying on the ground, waiting for you, especially when my legs work perfectly fine?"

Ratchet huffed in anger as he bolted the last end over the gap harshly, making Ironhide groan in more pain. "Why are you so mad?" he asked innocently, quietly.

Ratchet kept quiet for a while as he turned his back on him and worked at the counter. Ironhide watched him, still gripping his shoulder as the pain started to wear off and less energon seeped onto the berth and floor. "I put some pain meds in the energon to help..." he heard his lover mumble after a few kliks. He looked at Ratchet as he turned around and walked back to him, sitting on the edge of the berth with a sterilized wash cloth.

"Just hold still..." he murmured, Ironhide gasping softly and hissing as the coated cloth sterilized and stung exposed wires as the medic patted it gently over the injury.

After a while, Ratchet answered his question. "I'm not mad..." he whispered, Ironhide looking up into his sad optics. "I just... can't believe this happened... I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you, 'Hide..."

Ironhide slightly smiled at the words. "Ah, Ratchet... I'm sorry I scared you."

Ratchet actually chuckled as he wiped the cloth over the dried energon. "You're such a trooper. Running back here with one arm like nothing happened. Sometimes I question you..."

Ironhide laughed back, shifting so he faced Ratchet better. "Thank you," he whispered teasingly. Ratchet looked up into his optics with a small, closed smile. He pulled the cloth away as Ironhide leaned in and kissed him on the lips passionately, gently stroking the medic's upper leg with his servo.

Ratchet broke the kiss after Perceptor's link buzzed in his audio. "Yes, Perceptor?"

"The spare parts were found; I sent Wheeljack down to you with them."

"Oh, thank you Perceptor," he said, the microscope closing the link as he pulled his digit away from his audio. Ironhide watched him stand up and walk towards a monitor.

"That was awfully fast... when did you call in?"

"Just a moment ago. When you were bleeding to death," he replied quietly.

Ironhide continued observing the medic. Something was still bother him, he could tell. "Ratchet... what's wrong?"

"I told you what's wrong."

No... It's something more than that. Tell me..." he said as he stood up off the berth, walking towards Ratchet.

Ratchet sighed again, stopping his servos from typing as Ironhide placed his on the CMO's shoulder. "I, um, saw Hound put something in the cooler earlier. He claimed he was just getting ice for Mirage, but nothing was in his servo, and ice hasn't been in that cooler since last month."

"Hmm..." he replied, looking at his armless shoulder and wiggling it around, then looking up at Ratchet. "So?"

"_So_... he's obviously keeping something from me..."

Ironhide smiled. "Like what, Ratch? This is _Hound_ we're talking about..."

"Exactly... Hound's usually not so jumpy. A joor ago he asked if he and Mirage could have a sparkling..."

"A sparkling?"

"Yes, and I told them the danger levels were much too high. I told him no. He seemed sad, of course, and left. But at the cooler... do you think... " he started, looking up at Ironhide with uncertain optics. "You don't think he'd go against me, do you?"

Ironhide scoffed at the medic. "'Course not, Ratch! Hound would never do something that huge like that. It's too big of a risk... on multiple levels."

Ratchet looked down at the screen. "I know..." he whispered. "The Decepticon alarm rang right before I opened the lid... I wasn't able to see what was inside..."

"That's alright Ratchet. I''m sure there's a perfectly good explanation to your theory."

Ratchet sighed once more, about to speak as Wheeljack stepped in with the spare parts for Ironhide's new arm. Ironhide soon found himself laying back on a berth, staring at the ceiling with fuzzy optics, all the pain and every sensor numbing away as he sank slowly into stasis.

* * *

"Optimus! Watch out!" screamed Bumblebee, nearly taking a hit himself.

Optimus ducked and swung around, shooting at Starscream and nailing him right in the wing, making him transform and fall to the Earth.

Skywarp and Soundwave had filled up nearly 10 energon cubes from the plant's water wheel. Optimus was just about to run for them when Megatron landed right in front of him, almost making him run into the 'Con leader.

"Outta my way, Megatron..." he scowled, transforming his gun into his axe and holding it up.

Megatron laughed aloud at the semi. "You think you're so brave, don't you Optimus?"

Optimus smiled as he saw Prowl and Jazz run directly behind Megatron towards the two, Hound backing them up as seekers shot at them, Megatron obviously not noticing the smile under his guard mask. "No, Megatron, I just believe I'm clever enough to distract you like this."

Megatron's smile immediately dropped to an open frown, whipping around to see what was happening as Optimus smacked him in the helm with the side of his axe. Megatron yelled with anger as he fell, watching Soundwave knock the energon cubes over the edge of land as Prowl shot at him. Jazz clipped Skywarp's arm, missing his wing, and back-flipped to dodge the seeker's returning fire.

Mirage fought servo-on-servo with Starscream, feeling somewhat weaker than normal, especially in the cables in his abdomen. He keened as Starscream pushed him closer and closer to the edge, sliding his pedes to prevent himself from stumbling over.

"Such a weakling... pathetic Autobot scum," he muttered, laughing. Mirage ignored him, fighting to push himself forward and propel the SIC back.

Right when Starscream had him literally dangling one pede over the 200-foot drop, Mirage looked up into Starscream's optics pleadingly. The seeker just laughed... What worthless scum, he thought. He traced a fine line over the exterior of his abdomen, Mirage whimpering as he touched a sensitive spot caused by the sparkling.

Every mech turned to the two as Mirage shouted, gripping Starscream's arms in agony as his optics teared up. Starscream chuckled evilly, digging the extended, sharp digit in further and twisting it, penetrating Mirage's weak stomach plating even more as Mirage cried out. He pulled it out quickly, making Mirage shriek with one last gasp before he let go. The noble stood there, no one making a sound save for Mirage's choking gasps. He finally managed to shove Starscream backwards, the jet landing on the ground angrily.

"Decepticons! Retreat!" yelled Megatron. Starscream looked away from the trembling Autobot, then stood up and ran, transforming with that evil smirk plastered across his faceplate.

Mirage watched them leave with hazed optics, servos gripping his bleeding abdomen tightly. He barely noticed all the mechs run towards and surround him, Hound falling next to him and shaking him, shouting his name, making sure he was okay.

Mirage stared blankly at the desert floor, jaw dropped ever so slightly, moaning in pain and frustration. All he could think about was the sparkling... the sparkling, he thought. My sparkling...

He slowly looked down in the thick silence at his servos covering his plating, and pulled one away. He looked down at his energon-soaked servo, feeling the penetrated gap with his other one. He moaned... he wanted to cry. What did that seeker do? he asked himself, optics tearing up. Not at the pain, though, like some mechs were thinking.

But at the sparkling, he thought. My sparkling... is gone.


	4. Not So Secretive Anymore

**Basis:** G1

**Pairings:** HoundxMirage

* * *

Mirage was nearly offline before he found himself back in the med bay, staring up at the ceiling hazily.

He barely made out Hound's face looming above him, just making out the words spoken to him. He felt a serve clench around his own, assuming it was Hound's.

"The sparkling..." he whispered very low and hoarsely.

"Shhh..." Hound repeated in a manner to calm Mirage down. He was thankful Ratchet wasn't around to hear him, though, and continued hushing his lover soothingly. "You're okay... he's okay..." he said, but praying himself that the sparkling wasn't damaged, let alone Mirage.

The machine hovering above his abdomen where he was stabbed suddenly started beeping frantically, making Mirage jump. Ratchet walked over and pulled the machine away, eventually turning it off. Wheeljack walked over to Hound without saying a thing, both mechs looking down at Mirage on the berth.

"Alright," he started as he moved towards the open wound. "Just relax, I'm just gonna patch you up, okay?"

Mirage nodded and clenched his servo around Hound's. He winced as he felt wires and cables being tugged on and broken apart, opening up the wound wider. "Hang in there..." he heard, gritting his denta under his pressed lips as Wheeljack started welding the torn metal underlayer. Wires singed and burned like the pit; Mirage clasped Hound's servo with both of his own as the scientist hit a sensor node, transmitting pain and shock throughout his whole frame.

"Nggg..." he let out breathlessly after Wheeljack finally pulled the torch away. His optics started to tear up but he wouldn't let himself cry; he had stay strong, not think about the pain, have faith that the sparkling was alright.

"I know, Mirage, I'm sorry... hang in there, we're almost done..."

"Can't you disable his pain receptors?" he heard Hound ask.

He saw Wheeljack shake his head, and just faintly made out his reply. "Ratchet found a strange, large mass around this area; he doesn't want to do anything that might disturb it or make it worse... and the disabling would do just that."

Hound looked down at Mirage as the noble looked up at him. Hound smiled, but Mirage was still unsure. Hound was still worried that Ratchet would be pissed off at him, but he figured he didn't have a choice if he found out now or not. He looked back over at Wheeljack as he continued speaking.

"He's still not exactly sure what it is..." he mumbled, trying to see which wire needed the most care. "But he has an idea..."

Hound gulped, silently, hoping that Mirage at least wouldn't find out that Ratchet actually told them no.

After another few kliks, Mirage's grip on his servo lessened as Wheeljack stood up and pulled his tools away. "There, that should keep you safe for a while until Ratchet cleans you up."

Mirage cycled air through his nasal ridge, Hound petting his helm lightly. Ratchet soon took his place, standing before the two with a not-so-happy look on his faceplate.

_*Primus...*_ was all he could think before Ratchet started whispering frantically at him so Mirage couldn't hear.

"How could you, Hound?" he ranted lowly. "I told you _specifically_ NOT to do this!"

Hound let go of Mirage's servo and waved at him in defense. "I know, Ratchet!"

"If you knew then you wouldn't have completely ignored me! I _told you_, Hound, _told you_ that this is extremely _dangerous!_"

Mirage barely made out what they were whisper-yelling at each other about. He heard something about Ratchet telling him something was dangerous, and that's it.

"Ratchet, _please,_ listen..."

"No! No way, you don't have the _slightest_ on how this is going to affect him!" he ranted back, gesturing at Mirage.

"Just _listen_ to me!" he yelled aloud, breaking the harsh whispering.

Ratchet stood silent, servos dropping from their angry position to cross across his chassis. "Alright then," he said. "Go ahead. Explain why you thought danger didn't matter."

"Of course it matters!" he whispered. He looked down at Mirage, whom thankfully had offlined. "... I just couldn't tell him no..."

Ratchet stood there, silent for a moment, staring at Hound. He eventually scoffed, making Hound slowly look back at him. "Hound..." he whispered back. He seemed to not be as angry, just concerned and... sad.

"You should have seen him, Ratch..." he said. "I've never seen him so down."

Ratchet sighed and kept his optics on Hound, arms still crossed. "Hound... I know you care about him."

Hound looked back up at Ratchet. "But that's precisely _why_ you shouldn't have done this. A sparkling requires great responsibility; I told you that. And you _know_ that," he whispered. "Not only did you go against my orders and probably_ lied_ to Optimus, but you've put Mirage, yourself, and almost every single Autobot in danger."

"I know. And, I'm sorry... I know it's too late now, but if the sparkling survives, I promise you, Ratchet. I _promise_ everything will be alright."

Ratchet sighed and let his servos fall to his side. "...That's what I told Jazz, Hound. And..." he started, turning to walk towards the counter. "Let's just say I couldn't keep that promise."

Hound watched Ratchet walk away in silence, and turned back to Mirage. His optics were online now, staring at the ceiling lazily. Hound reached out and stroked his helm and smiled at him, Mirage looking up and smiling just slightly in return.

What did Ratchet mean? _Couldn't keep the promise_... what happened? He wanted to know so badly. But he figured it best not to say anything; just let it go. If he never knew, it was probably meant to be that way.

"So just when were you planning on telling me this, Hound?" Ratchet asked to break the silence, not facing him. Hound turned to look at him, pausing for a moment.

"... I was planning to do so at the official meeting with Prime's underlings. I figured you finding out by_ his_ words would be easier..."

"Hmph..." Ratchet breathed, examining and sterilizing his scalpel. Hound stood there, as if waiting for the medic to continue, but he said nothing. He looked back at Mirage.

"Tell him what?" asked Mirage, vocals raspy.

Hound's optics grew slightly as Ratchet turned his helm to look over at him. "You didn't tell him?" Ratchet asked in an angry whisper, trudging towards the scout.

"Umm... nothing, Mirage. I'll tell you later," Hound chirped nervously just before Ratchet was about to say some colorful words to him. He stepped away from his bondmate, Ratchet following him with his astonished facial expression.

"You _lied_ to _him_, too?" he yelled in a whisper. Hound rubbed his optics with two digits, sighing.

"Yes... yes," he finally replied. "I told you I couldn't tell him no..."

"I thought you meant that he knew what I said, he just still wanted the sparkling! I didn't know you flat-out _lied_ to him, let alone Optimus! And Prowl, too, I suppose?"

"Yes, Ratchet! I lied! I'm sorry! You know how terrible I feel right now? I don't need you to keep ranting on how this was such a bad idea! I get it! I know what I did; it's too late to fix it now - the sparkling's probably dead now, anyway!" he yelled loud enough for Mirage to hear every word.

Ratchet was silent. He watched Hound, his cheek plating flushing the slightest pink tint, his optics fluttering over to Mirage who looked up at them.

After at least a klik of awkward silence and stillness, Ratchet returned to his counter. "The sparkling's not dead..." he muttered, picking up his third drill bit and the sterile cloth.

"...What?"

Ratchet paused again before repeating. "Sparkling's alive."

Hound walked back over to Mirage. The noble looked back up with bright, wide optics, his mouth slightly open as he was desperate to know what the two were arguing about. Hound just reached out and held his servo, clenching his own around it comfortingly - Mirage took it as and I'll-tell-you-later gesture.

Hound tried to smile at the news of the sparkling surviving, but was too in depth on this whole lying ordeal. He'd never lied like this to _any_ mech, let alone feel the way he did.

After about 10 kliks or so, Hound broke the silence. "How did the sparkling survive?"

"Starscream punctured his abdomen just to the left of the reproduction chamber, barely missing him," Ratchet replied softly. "If I get him patched up before he leaks any more massive amount of energon, he should be fine."

Hound looked down in Mirage's optics going dull. They flickered up to Hound, his mouth smiling at him. Hound knew he was absolutely exhausted by now; he'd lost so much energon, and the sparkling absorbing whatever was left was nearly offlining him.

Ratchet came over with a sheet of metal and his drill. He silently got to work, covering up Wheeljack's work and buffing out the edges so he looked brand new. Within a matter of kliks, Mirage looked like nothing had ever happened.

"There," he said. "Both he and the sparkling should be fine." He stepped away and walked to the sink, washing the tools. Hound watched him; he could almost sense that the medic was pissed off at him, and acted like he was trying to avoid him.

The scout was so tense right now, he jumped when he felt Mirage's servo grip tighter on his. He looked down to see him clenching his digits weakly around his servo, optics just barely online. He held onto it firmly, smiling at the thought that their sparkling was still alive. Hound watched the noble's optics flicker dully, pulling Hound's servo towards his faceplate as he finally offlined and entered recharge.

* * *

**Day 2**

Mirage onlined to an empty med bay.

He immediately tried to sit up, but just groaned as he gripped his abdomen in pain and laid back down.

He offlined his optics, wondering what time it was, where Hound was, why his abdomen hurt so bad... He onlined as he pressed a servo to his mouth, slowly sitting up and hoping the feeling would pass.

Of course it didn't.

He jumped up off the berth, trying his best to ignore the sharp sting of pain shooting through his entire front. He made it to the med bay's wash room and fell down at the rack, purging his tanks.

He hadn't even heard the mech run in; he just jumped when he felt cold servos on his back.

He pulled up with a gasp as he finally stopped purging, gripping his abdomen as it hurt more that ever. Hound's servos, or so he thought, stroked his back but he said nothing. He then realized they weren't Hound's when he caught a glimpse of red shifting behind him.

He felt them pull away and heard water running, keeping his helm over the rack's flooring. He looked at the purging, staring at it as he tried to remember who was behind him. He knew Hound didn't have red servos... Oh, right, he thought. Ratchet's the only mech. The sparkling was even preventing him from thinking clearly...

He then saw a strong spray of water wash the purging away, pushing it down the drain. He looked up at the medic, a neutral, almost sad look upon his faceplate as he washed the purging down the rack drain. Mirage couldn't help but feel slightly awkward right now, especially after the medic and Hound's argument on something that he assumed was about him, and Ratchet's actions and look of sadness and worry.

Mirage slowly stood up as Ratchet turned off the spray nozzle. He turned and stored the nozzle back in its place, still silent.

"Are you alright, Ratchet?" Mirage asked very softly, as if the question would earn him a slap across the faceplate.

Ratchet nodded and turned back around. "Yes, I'm fine. What about yourself?"

"I'm okay," he replied as Ratchet passed him, hardly looking at him. He followed the medic out of the wash room, striding slowly back to his berth. "Thanks for... helping me..." he said quietly as he sat down on the edge.

Ratchet waved it off, back turned to the noble. What had he and Hound talked about that made him like this? Ratchet was grumpy, yes, but never really, upset, like he was now... Where was Hound, anyway? he pondered.

"Um... may I ask, when am I free to leave?"

"When I finish running this test, Mirage."

"...Where is Hound?"

"Recon."

The two fell in awkward silence once again. Mirage just wanted him to _talk_ to him... to get him out of this extremely weird mood.

"...What time is it?"

Ratchet rubbed his optics and checked his chronometer. "0800."

Mirage sighed after looking at the medic for a while. "Ratchet..." he started, listening to the CMO's heavy sigh.

"Yes, Mirage."

"_Please_ talk to me... why are you acting to strange?"

Ratchet paused for a moment, tool resting still in his servo as he held it. He breathed in a cycle of air, and then let it out. He slowly turned around so his front faced Mirage as he set the tool down. Mirage watched him prowl towards him, and shifted so the medic could sit down next to him.

"Mirage..." he started, rubbing his offlined optics with his digits. He wasn't going to tell him what his and Hound's conversation was about yesterday; that wasn't necessary. "...Are you aware of the tell-tale dangers of a sparkling?"

Mirage nodded as he focused on the medic's words. "Of course. We both knew the risks."

Ratchet onlined his optics and clasped his servos together. He cycled another deep intake, letting it out slowly. "What Hound and I were talking about was just the problems associated with you and your sparkling. Have you taken into consideration that he will develop the same cycling issue as you?"

Mirage nodded again.

"...And you know that a sparkling _will be_ at absolute high value towards the Decepticons?"

Mirage sighed and turned his helm. "Yes, Ratchet. I wanted the sparkling because he would be of high value to we Autobots, too. It's not like I just want him so the 'Cons can steal him."

Ratchet paused for a moment before continuing. "I understand that..." he said softly.

"I just wanted something of my own... I'm an Autobot. I own _nothing_... I don't _own_ Hound." He turned back to look at Ratchet in the optics. "I saw those humans while I was on patrol," he nearly whispered. "They looked so _happy_, Ratchet. I'd give _anything_ to be a creator like those humans... do you understand?"

Ratchet just gave him his hard, warm stare. He said nothing at first, looking over that handsome Noble face and knowing exactly how he felt. "...Of course I do, Mirage," he said at last.

Ratchet himself had always wanted a sparkling... that was part of the reason he said no: it was too dangerous, even for a medic. He knew exactly how he felt, though. He always saw humans walking around with their smaller forms, so 'cute' and innocent... He even brought it up with Ironhide. But he knew there probably couldn't be a worse time to have a sparkling than now...

"Of course I do..." he repeated in a whisper, looking down.

A long silence filled the room. Mirage just looked at Ratchet, wondering why this sparkling made him so tense. He guessed he knew why, just because it was very dangerous, but it felt like something more... He was about to say something when the med bay doors opened and a mech walked in.

"Mirage," said the voice, making the two look over. Ratchet jumped up and returned to the counter as Mirage walked over to Hound.

"Hi Hound," he said, smiling tiredly.

"Are you alright?" he asked, wiping his forehelm with his digit.

"Yes, yes..."

"You're free to go Mirage," they heard. "I want to see you back in two joors, alright?"

"Alright, thank you, Ratchet."

Mirage looked at Hound as they both started to leave. Once they were out of the med bay, the doors swooshed shut, leaving Ratchet alone in his quiet, empty med bay, worrying nonstop about what was to come.

* * *

"Mirage, _please_, drink this," pleaded Hound for the eighth time.

Mirage kept his servos on his faceplate and shook his helm once more. He sighed aloud, groaning slightly.

"Please, 'Raj, you're worrying me..."

Mirage took his servos away and looked up at the scout. "I can't..." he said, gripping his abdomen and wincing.

"Ratchet said it would only be another joor or so. You need to drink this, he said. It has some of your antidote in it," he replied, swishing around the energon. "The sparkling needs it..." he whispered very lowly.

Mirage glanced around at every other mech in the rec room, although none were really near enough to hear them. He reached out a servo and grasped the energon cube, staring at it as he brought it to his faceplate. He looked back up at Hound as if questioning him.

"Go on," he said, smiling reassuringly. He watched Mirage sip at the energon, then scowling at the taste and nearly choking.

"This is disgusting!" he chirped, setting the cube down.

"I know... it's different than your average antidote. Ratchet mixed some pain reliever and something to help the sparkling in with it. He said to only drink it for the next two joors, until you see him again."

Mirage sighed and switched off his nasal circuits so he didn't have to smell it. He gulped it down, anxious to get it over with. "...You owe me..." he said after it was gone.

"Alright," he smirked in reply. Hound picked up the cube as he stood up and walked over to the disposal, placing the dirty cube with the other ones. He walked back over and reached out a servo, Mirage taking it and standing up, following Hound out of the rec room.

He honestly didn't feel like interfacing now... but he knew he'd be more than aroused later after the pain settled down. Hound wouldn't force him to do anything, either.

"Don't you have a shift?" Mirage asked after they got back to their quarters.

"Not for another half cycle. Are you off for the joor?"

"No, but Ratchet said not to start until 1400."

"Ah," he responded, wrapping his servos around Mirage and kissing his neck. Surprisingly enough, the pain actually did seem to melt away at Hound's touches, the kiss shooting bursts of warmth and happiness through his frame. He sank into the hold, resting his helm against Hound's shoulder as the scout trailed kisses along his neck and jaw line. He tilted his helm to kiss the noble's lips, Mirage reaching a servo to lay on Hound's chassis.

He pulled away after a moment, gazing into Hound's bright blue optics. "I love you..." he whispered, kissing his cheek plate lightly.

Hound kept his servos around Mirage's frame, stroking his back. "I love you too," he muffled into his neck, smiling. He slowly traced his digits down Mirage's chassis, feeling his way down his abdomen, tickling the stomach plating. Mirage smirked softly, leaning in to the touch.

"I'm afraid I still can't feel anything," he whispered after a moment.

"I know... just feeling..."

Hound kissed his faceplate and neck repeatedly, slowly, caressing him. He loved to make his bondmate feel better; he could tell he was fairly tense, but was relaxing under Hound's hold greatly.

"Hmm..." Mirage sighed. "You better get to your shift..."

Hound pulled his lips away from Mirage's neck. "Oh... I suppose you're right..." he murmured, checking his chronometer. He looked around the room, finding the object he'd come back to their quarters for in the first place. He walked over to a table and picked up the three datapads, subspacing them and walking back over to Mirage. "I'll see you in a while then." He kissed Mirage on the lips lightly as he turned to leave, the noble smiling as he watched him exit.


	5. The Meeting

**Basis:** G1

**Pairings:** HoundxMirage

Fifth chapter!

Hope ya guys like . . xP

* * *

Another slow-passing joor ended peacefully for the noble.

Hound surprised him while washing again, holding him from behind and tracing a digit across his abdomen as he nipped at his neck cables.

"Hound," Mirage gasped, feeling Hound's digit trace so finely down his mid section and towards his panel, stimulating sensors everywhere. "Not here..."

Hound kissed Mirage's neck again, massaging the plating in the empty wash room. "I owe you, remember?"

"But not in public..." he whispered. "Please..."

Hound huffed into his neck, pulling his servo away to just caress his frame. "Alright... let's go, then."

"Wait until I'm done at least," he chuckled.

Hound smiled and pulled away completely, watching Mirage rinse off the cleaning liquid. He grabbed the towel and handed it to the noble after he turned off the water.

"_Now?_" he asked, returning the towel after Mirage was done with it and taking his servo, starting to lead him out of the wash room.

"I suppose..." he sighed teasingly.

They walked in silence all the way back to their quarters, hand-in-hand as they made their way through the deserted hallways.

"Just not too hard," Mirage said once they got to their quarters. "My chambers still feel funny."

"Alright," he said, pulling him close and planting a passionate kiss on his soft lips. Mirage didn't have to wait long before Hound had him pinned to the berth, his pressurized spike swiping across the open valve entrance. He slowly pushed his way forward, popping the tip through the platelets and earning a moan from his lover underneath him.

Hound kept his thrusts at a nice, constant, not-too-slow yet not-too-fast pace. "Ohhh..." Mirage moaned, holding on just barely to Hound's shoulders. He could feel his spike pressurizing, transfluid building up in the tip, ready to burst. Hound placed the container against the tip of the noble's quivering spike, thrusting slightly harder.

Mirage finally mewled, keening as he overloaded, bucking into the container as his 'fluid shot inside. Hound pulled it away and clasped the lid on it, finally overloading himself into his lover.

"Ahhhgg..." he breathed, thrusts becoming less harsh as his overload subsided. "Do you still feel okay?"

"Uh-huh..." he mumbled in reply, cycling air. "One more... then we're done for the night."

Hound chuckled and kissed his cheek plating. "Yeah, alright..."

He set the container down and started little thrusts again, making Mirage rock to his movements and grip onto his neck once more.

* * *

**Day 3**

Mirage onlined with his helm aching. He quickly offlined his optics again, holding his helm where it hurt. He noticed that thankfully his stomach chambers didn't feel nearly as awkward as they did yesterday, but he still found himself clasping his other servo around it.

He looked over behind Hound at the side table, and the six containers of his transfluid upon it. _Primus,_ he thought. _*So much for just one more round last night...* _What the slag happened? Why couldn't he remember anything?

_*I'm gonna slap Hound if he seduced me again...*_

Hound onlined next to him, slowly, but quickly checking if Mirage was alright. "How do you feel?" he asked, arm still wrapped around his frame.

"Okay..." he made out. "My helm hurts like the pit, but my chambers are okay."

"That's good," he said after a moment, stroking his forehelm with a digit.

"So tell me what happened last night."

"Hm?"

"Last night. I said one more round... and there's four more containers on that table than expected. What happened?"

"Oh..." he smirked. "Primus, even I thought I'd never see you that kinky again. The second 'face made you overload so hard you filled two containers, and then you wouldn't stop begging me to take you. I eventually got you to simmer down after I pounded the scrap out of you for the third time, and by then you were so exhausted you fell into automatic recharge."

Mirage's optics widened with each word. Did that really happen? "What can't I remember?"

Hound shrugged as best he could in his current position. "Beats me... maybe the sparkling's making you forget things more."

"Doesn't surprise me... and this probably explains the helmache."

"Possibly."

"It could also be from that nasty energon..." Mirage stated. Hound laughed and kissed his forehelm softly, shifting the noble closer to him.

"I know you hate it... but you only have today and tomorrow left to drink it. Then it's back to your regular antidote."

"Thank Primus..." he whispered, burying his faceplate in Hound's neck. "This sparkling's draining the energon right out of me... and makes everything feel, smell, and taste weird."

Hound smiled as he offlined his optics. "I know... I'm sorry..." he whispered. "But did you notice something?"

"Hmm."

"You haven't purged this morning..."

Mirage pulled away to look at Hound. "Oh... yes," he chuckled. "I guess that's true..." He smiled slightly at the thought of his purging finally stopping. "...It's only the third day, though... I might purge later this morning or something."

"Well, at least that'd be it... after tonight you'll be golden."

Mirage scoffed. "Sure, save for the chamber pains getting worse, the sensor relays just going more haywire, and the overall pain in sparklingbirth. After the _eight days_ I'll be golden."

Hound kissed his helm again and replied to the statement. "It'll all be worth it..." he whispered into his audio receptor, then kissed it.

"I know..." he whispered back. They laid in silence for a while, Hound's embrace feeling so good to the noble that he never wanted to leave the berth.

"I'm starving... I need energon." he spoke up after a few kliks. Before Hound could reply, he quickly added to his sentence. "And not that horrible antidote scrap yet. Just _normal_ energon."

"Alright... fine. Normal energon. Just this morning, though. Ratchet said you need that antidote since the sparkling did suffer a minor injury."

"I know, I know..." He got up off the berth and walked into the wash room. Hound stayed on the berth, optics offlined, only to flash them open right when he heard a shriek from the wash room.

"Hound!" he heard, and jumped off the berth and ran to Mirage. There his lover stood, right in front of the mirror with a mortified expression consuming his whole faceplate.

"What is it?" he asked, then noticed what he was so freaked out about. Mirage's stomach plating jutted out the slightest bit, a tiny lump formed right in the center of his abdomen.

Hound just laughed. "Mirage," he chuckled. "You knew this was going to happen... why are you so freaked out?"

"I..." he started, wide optics not leaving the small lump. "I guess I just didn't expect for it to come just yet..."

"Hmmm..." he continued giggling. He lifted up a servo to touch the lump, watching it in the mirror. "It's not that noticeable..."

"_What?_ What are you talking about? Of course it is! My abdomen is _flat_! Even the smallest lump, like such, is going to draw Primus knows how much attention!"

"Calm down, 'Raj. No one's gonna notice. I guarantee it."

Mirage stuttered, his dropped jaw and wide optics turning from Hound back to the mirror. He felt it with his own servo, whimpering at the sight but finding the feeling somewhat interesting. "Are you sure?" he asked nervously after a moment.

"98% sure."

"Pfff... there's still a whole 2%..."

Hound just chuckled again, leaning in and kissing the side of Mirage's helm. "You'll be fine. Walk around with your servos laced in front of it, or with a datapad or something in front if you're that worried." He turned to leave the wash room and walked back over to the berth. He stood at the side table, thinking about how to transport all these containers. He eventually didn't take any, calling out "I'll be back" as he left the quarters.

Mirage just stayed staring at the lump, wondering how on Cybertron Hound could think that no one would notice. It's a _lump_, for Primus' sake. A _lump_ on my_ flat_ abdomen... A million thoughts raced through his CPU. He wasn't ready for this... all the attention to come. He wanted at least another day... or maybe Hound was right. Maybe no one would notice...

Hound soon returned with a large pitcher. He carefully undid each container, and one-by-one emptied them into the pitcher along with the other transfluid. Mirage turned his helm to watch him for a moment, and soon walked out next to him.

"I'm going to get some energon..." he said shyly.

"Alright," Hound replied. Mirage looked up at him with slightly worried optics, as if telepathically asking his lover to retrieve the energon for him so he didn't have to face the other Autobots. "And no one's gonna notice..." he whispered reassuringly, leaning in to kiss his helm again.

Mirage rolled his optics teasingly and left their quarters.

* * *

"Mornin', 'Raj," piped up Jazz as the noble entered the rec room.

Mirage jumped at the sudden voice, and immediately shot his servos up to lace in front of his abdomen. "Oh... Good morning, Jazz..."

Jazz stepped aside as Mirage made his way to the energon dispenser. "I see you're feeling better..." he said.

"What?"

"I mean when you purged ya tanks the other joor. Durin' operation. Plus you don't look so pale anymore, and you're out o' med bay from Screamer's blow."

"Oh... right... that..." he whispered to himself. "Yes, I do feel much better."

Jazz paused for a moment as he watched the shaky noble. "...You alright there?"

"Hm?"

"Well...you- you look like you're shakin', and your cube's about to overflow..."

"What?" he asked again as he looked down and pulled his cube away from the nozzle without even turning it off. Jazz quickly pulled the switch, preventing any more energon from adding to the liquid mass staining the flooring.

"Oh..." he said nervously.

Jazz merely chuckled. "That's alright, 'Raj. No biggie. I'll just assign my cleaning crew to it."

"Cleaning crew? I didn't know we had one..."

"Nah, I mean our little troublemakers. Prowl threw the twins back in the brig about a joor after they just got out... they think minibots are so fun to play with."

"...Oh..." he let out.

"After Prowl lets 'em go in a few kliks I'll bring 'em up here."

"Okay... I'm sorry..." he apologized, looking over the energon dripping off the ledge and the large puddle in the floor.

Jazz patted him on the shoulder and walked away, leaving Mirage gripping his cube with both servos and stumbling back out the rec room doors. He lowered the cube so it covered his lump as best he could, paranoid that every mech was staring at him.

* * *

"...before the Golden Age. Back then, sparklings were considered a normal sight. A coupling would produce up to four sparklings a decacycle, and up to seven hatchlings. Sparklings were more guaranteed to form better, providing confidence for the creators that the sparkling to grow to become strong and powerful. 75% of all mechs today were once sparklings..."

Hound kept reading through the history of sparklings from the Cybertronian Hall of Records that he was able to access on his datapad. So far he'd read on basic facts, how to care for them, why they were considered a threat...

He looked up as the doors swooshed open and Mirage walked in. "What are you reading?" he asked as he stepped closer, slowly, sipping his normal energon that tasted too good.

"Oh," he said as he quickly turned off the datapad. "Nothing, just, um... Jazz's last recon mission."

"Why are you reading Jazz's last recon - "

"Prime told me to."

Mirage paused for a moment, and sat down on the berth. "Um... okay." Why was Hound acting weird? he wondered.

Hound knew that Mirage knew about the risks. But he still didn't know that Ratchet had told them no in the first place... and Hound wanted to keep it that way. He just wanted to know _why_ the medic saw sparklings as such a threat, why they were as dangerous as they were, how much danger they themselves were in... He wanted to know everything about them.

Besides, if he was going to have a sparkling of his own, he needed to.

The scout nearly forgot that Mirage was sitting right next to him, watching him as he silently thought. He let out a small chuckle and turned to face him. "Optimus just wanted to me read Jazz's mission report because I soon will be fulfilling the same."

"Oh," was all he said. He sipped at the energon again, optics fluttering off into space.

"What's wrong?" he heard Hound ask him.

"Nothing..."

"Did anyone notice?"

Mirage silently shook his helm. "No... But Jazz was there. He talked to me the whole time. It felt really strange..."

"How so?"

"I'm not sure... he just acted like himself. If he did have sparklings, something must have happened to them - they wouldn't be old enough to departure permanently. Wouldn't you think he, and Prowl, would be acting more... sad?"

Hound sighed. "I don't know, Mirage. Jazz has always been a chipper, upbeat 'Bot. I've seen things happen to him, and he always comes back as his normal self. Prowl's always more quiet, and always has been. I wouldn't worry about him."

"Maybe it's just a play..." he said almost to himself.

"Why's that?"

"I don't know, maybe it was too much for him so he's trained himself to put it aside. I don't know, Hound. This sparkling's practically thinking for me... I don't know what's wrong with me."

"You're fine," smirked Hound. "Let's just not jump to conclusions. Maybe I'll talk to him later."

"..."

After a while of observing the nervous noble, Hound spoke up again. "I gotta go..." he said, subspacing the datapad and kissing Mirage's helm.

He reached up a servo to cup his face, bring his towards his own. "Com'ere, " he teased, getting Mirage to face him. He gently kissed him on the lips, Mirage finally succumbing and kissing back passionately.

Hound pulled away but kept his optics on Mirage's. "You're gonna be fine," he whispered, and kissed his nasal ridge.

"Yeah, yeah..." he replied playfully.

"Bye," Hound giggled as he stood up and took the pitcher in his servo to return to the cooler.

"Bye."

Hound left the quarters and made his way down to the rec room. Once there, he ran into Jazz, who was blocking the cooler by talking to Trailbreaker.

"Mornin' Hound," he said.

"Good morning, Jazz. If you'll excuse me... I need to get to the cooler," he replied with a smile.

Jazz's wide grin immediately dropped to a frown. He stared at the pitcher in Hound's servo, and very slowly stepped out of the way.

"Something wrong?" Hound asked as he cautiously opened the cooler door and stored the pitcher inside. Jazz looked up from his trance, still practically scowling.

"Oh, no... no... um..." he said, a servo gripping behind his helm. Hound had never seen the saboteur so jumpy - this really _was_ strange. Much stranger than what Mirage had described.

Hound shut the cooler door and stood up to normal height. "Ratchet... just wanted me to run this over here."

"Oh... right. Yeah... um..."

"You okay, Jazz?" asked Trailbreaker.

"Yeah, yeah guys, I'm fine..." He couldn't stop thinking about that pitcher. The same pitcher he and Prowl used... He remembered storing it in the cooler just like Hound had. That pitcher brought so many painful memories back to his processor, memories it had take vorns of mental therapy to overcome...

"Well..." started Hound, looking over Jazz suspiciously. "I have a shift... I'll see you guys later."

"Alright, bye, Hound," said Trailbreaker. Jazz didn't take his visor off the cooler, and barely made out a faint "Bye".

_*Primus, that was weird...*_ thought Hound. Maybe Mirage was right... but what could have happened to his and Prowl's split-sparks? He had no clue where to begin. It wasn't his place to know these things, but what if it would affect his own? He needed to know... this whole ordeal was getting stranger every joor.

He decided he'd wait until tomorrow to ask Prowl. Right now, since he had a few kliks before his shift started, he was heading towards Optimus' office to ask him if he would schedule the meeting sooner. Mirage didn't want to walk around trying to hide his lump and feeling intimidated. They needed everyone to know, now.

He swiftly knocked on the door to Optimus' office, and it opened almost instantly. "Hello, Hound!" replied their leader. "Is there a problem?"

"Um... in a way, I suppose..."

"Alright, come on in, have a seat."

Hound walked in past Optimus and sat down. The semi sat down across the desk in his chair, giving the scout his full attention. "What seems to be the problem?"

"It's not really a problem, sir. Mirage noticed he was showing a little this morning, and has felt intimidated by it all joor."

Optimus stroked his chin with a digit, thinking. "Hm... yes..."

"I was just wondering if maybe you would mind to reschedule the meeting to sometime tomorrow morning? Or even this evening, if you have the time."

Optimus stayed silent for a while. Hound noticed he was staring at the wall, more like off into space while he thought about it, going over in his CPU what he had going on today.

"I suppose..." he started after a moment, "that I can hold the official meeting at 1900 hours. Is that alright?"

"Yes, sir. That's perfect."

"Alright," he said, a smile under his guard mask. "I will alert everyone in need of attending."

Hound stood up and shook Optimus' offering servo. "Thank you, Prime," he said, smiling slightly. He then left the office, making his way towards his shift rather quickly since the meeting had made him a tad late.

* * *

_**7:00 PM**_

Conversations bounced off every wall as Hound walked in the conference room. There really weren't a lot of mechs, as only few were permitted to attend. He sat down at the last open seat next to Prowl, Optimus at the front end to the scout's left.

"Alright, everyone, take a seat," called the leader. The talking ceased gradually as Optimus roll called. Jazz and Ironhide returned to their seats from the energon dispenser as Ratchet and Wheeljack parted to do the same.

"Prowl."

"Present."

"Jazz."

"Present an' accounted for."

"Ironhide."

"Right here, Prime."

"Ratchet."

"Present."

"Hound."

"Present."

"Bumblebee."

"Recon!" called a voice from the table. Optimus marked off the minibot on his datapad.

"Wheeljack,"

"Present, Prime."

"And Perceptor."

"Present."

Optimus looked to Hound. "And... Mirage?"

Hound solemnly shook his helm as Optimus mouthed "alright". The semi knew that Mirage had an an option, considering he would feel the most awkward and out-of-place than anyone else at this meeting. If he didn't want to come, that was fine.

"Alright, looks like everyone's here except for Bumblebee, correct?"

Several agreements bounced off the table and Optimus continued the meeting. He sat down in his own seat, flicking the datapad screen with a digit a few times until he reached the right one.

"Now," he started, the last bit of chatting escaping the few mechs. "A total of five mechs on this Ark know the reason this meeting has been scheduled, four of them being in this room."

Several mechs looked around at the rest, at each other, then back to Optimus as he continued speaking. "And by the end of this meeting, the four more of you will acknowledge this information. And _only_ we nine will know, at least for three more joors. Is this understood?"

Every mech at the conference table nodded. Not even Jazz cracked a smile. Everyone knew he meant that this meeting was temporary classified, and would not be mentioned or spoken about to anyone outside the room. Not even Bumblebee. "Alright then," he continued. "This meeting was held on account of request; it was not scheduled until another three joors, but we decided to acknowledge you now."

He paused for a moment, glancing at Hound after he looked up from his datapad. Jazz just sipped at his energon, breaking the somewhat-awkward silence as the loud slurping caused most mechs to look his way. Prowl shot him a distasteful glance, making the saboteur straighten up and sip it normally. Optimus pushed the pad aside and laced his digits together, formerly setting them on the table as if he was scorning them all for doing something wrong.

"...We have an expectant." he said finally.

Jazz choked, spit-taking his energon all over the table. Everyone turned to stare, Prowl grasping his shoulder and slightly lifting up his arm so he quit throttling as he took his energon cube away. Jazz pushed his lover's arm away, pressing the side of his fist against his lips as he coughed violently.

"What?" he stifled shockingly.

Every mech turned back to Optimus with nearly frightened faces. "A mech on board the Ark in pregnant, as of three joors ago."

Prowl rubbed Jazz's back as the saboteur rubbed his own optics, the harsh coughing settling down. Everyone broke out in mad speech, voices rising across the room towards one another.

Eventually Optimus lifted his servos, gesturing for everyone to quiet down to continue with the meeting. "Alright, alright," he chanted. "I understand this is big news to most of you," he said after the mechs had quietened down and focused back on their leader. "But please remain aware of the fact that this_ is_ a big _deal_. One that requires responsibility and commitment."

Silence filled the room. Everyone was too speechless for words... too many thoughts raced through their processors. A sparkling was indeed a huge deal. For multiple reasons, everyone knew well of. Prowl leaned over to Jazz, rubbing his back comfortingly, and whispered something in his audio. He nodded, obviously in great mental pain.

"Who is it...?" asked Jazz very quietly after a while, breaking the silence. Everyone turned to stare at Optimus, as if the ones who didn't know were thinking that very thing. Optimus looked over to Hound, who looked back with reassuring optics.

"...Mirage."

Jazz sighed doggedly, holding his offlined optics again.

"Dear Primus..." Perceptor let out, he and Wheeljack doing almost the same action.

Almost every mech shot a glance at Hound, knowing he was obviously the 'father'.

Optimus still continued, trying to look past the depressed looks upon his underlings' faceplates. "We are aware of Mirage's cycling condition, and that the sparkling will no doubt inherit it as well."

Ratchet looked up at Optimus, meeting his optics. "But I know we have outstanding scientists and medics to pull him through." He smiled softly under his guard mask, Ratchet looking back at the table not so tense.

"Now Optimus, Ratchet, nor I wouldn't have let Mirage go through with the sparkling if we knew it was_ total_ chaos," piped up Prowl on Optimus' behalf. He knew Jazz hadn't known that Prowl was one of those who did, even though he knew the tactician was one whom a mech must consult for these things. He just hadn't put two and two together. Yet. Prowl knew Jazz was now even more upset, more than likely pissed off greatly at his bondmate for keeping it from him, let alone _allowing_ the noble to go through with this. He did his best to ignore the heavy yet surprised scowl he was giving him right now.

But wasn't Prowl the 'father' of their sparklings, too? Wasn't he aware of the loss they _both_ experienced? Didn't Prowl feel pain... horrible, heavy, mental pain, just like he did?

Obviously not, Jazz thought.

Ratchet immediately glared at Hound at Prowl's words. Hound glanced at him with pleading optics, so nervous now that Ratchet would tell that he had _not_ given clearance. But the medic remained silent, though continued to scowl at the scout through practically the whole meeting.

Prowl continued. "Yes, as we all know, a sparkling is not fit for this type of environment. But the main reason we've allowed him is the fact that he will be the start of a new generation, but also which is exactly why the Decepticons will be after him."

Every mech agreed, knowing the history of Megatron and his absolute hatred of Autobot sparklings. It was simple, really; Megatron of course did not want sparklings from his opponent line because such creatures would grow to fulfill position and rank, taking place of the perished Autobots. His goal now was to _eliminate all_ the Autobots, not keep fighting them, which is exactly what will happen if the sparklings survive. This was precisely another reason why he sent spies; to see what changes needed ridding, especially if such changes were_ alive_.

This is mainly what Prowl had read in the datapad. Even though the murdering of sparklings was an act started when Megatron came to rule, sparklings had always been frowned upon in this type of war-like environment. Bombs going off and shooting all around _was_ absolute chaos, and was indeed no place for a sparkling.

"If I may, Optimus," chimed in Ratchet, turning his helm from Hound to the leader, scowling optics softening. "But our last encounter with sparklings did not involve many acts of killing against them from the Decepticons."

A few mechs whispered to each other, Optimus still giving his medic his attention. Ratchet of course knew this was a bad idea to bring up Jazz's lost sparklings when he was in the room, but he knew it should be noted. "Now, I know that - "

Ironhide bumped his arm in a manner to get him to stop. He gestured with his helm over to Jazz, who had his faceplate buried in both servos as Prowl massaged his back neck cables, looking concerned and almost sad. Ratchet quickly shut his mouth. Every mech could agree that they had never seen the saboteur so down, or even Prowl for that matter. It was like looking at a completely different mech.

"All I thought of saying was that maybe if we tried hard enough to keep the sparkling hidden from Megatron and his spies, that we would be able to keep him safe until he's old and strong enough to at least somewhat fight back."

"Yes..." replied Optimus. "Yes, I believe your plan might pull through... we will have to figure out what exactly we need to do in order for that to work later."

Hound was a bit surprised. Was Ratchet really trying to help the sparkling? Not rat the scout out, but support it? Ratchet turned back to the table as Optimus continued speaking to rest of the mechs. He caught Hound's glance and looked up into those optics that had "thank you" shining all over them. This time the medic didn't scowl back, though. He simply returned his own optics to Optimus, listening to the rest of the meeting.

"Now. We all understand that Mirage may be feeling rather self-conscious about showing," Optimus said as he looked to Hound. "But I do not want the others knowing just yet, simply because of the possibility of Megatron or any Decepticon finding out."

Several mechs nodded, including Hound. "He isn't that noticeable now," chimed in the scout. "But in at least two joors we should acknowledge the others."

"Agreed," replied Optimus. He looked over to Ratchet. "Ratchet, how many joors along does Mirage need to be in order for you to retrieve valuable information?"

"About five joors," he said.

"Perfect. Gather as much information as you can on the day we alert the others."

"Alright, Optimus." Ratchet looked over at Hound, still not smiling but looking a lot less dense.

After a while of talking about the sparkling and different orders for each mech, Optimus started to wrap up the meeting. "Alright mechs, looks like we can settle at that; And we understand that this information will _not_ be repeated to _anyone_, correct?"

"Yes, Optimus," they nearly all shouted at once. Every mech stood up as Optimus did, saluting.

"Meeting adjourned," he said, picking up his datapads and walking out. The mechs followed him, dispersing their separate ways down the hallway without saying a peep.


	6. Questions and Answers

**Basis:** G1

**Pairings: **HoundxMirage, ProwlxJazz

Alright, I know this all may be a bit confusing with the pieces here and there, but I'm not explaining everything yet for a reason. Adds suspense xP

You kinda get the gist... You'll just have to keep reading.

The _very last_ sentence I think is cheesy, but it's nice I guess. You probably will pay no mind to it.

And thanks for reviews/alerts/faves! xD

* * *

**Day 4**

The quarter doors slid open as Hound punched in the key from the outside lock pad. He had just returned from the rec room, emptying at least six more containers from last night into the pitcher. He was still pretty exhausted, even after 11 cycles of recharge, from last night though; his stomach chambers still churned at the memory of Mirage handcuffing him to the wall and taking his spike rougher than usual. They rotated with the handcuffs at least four times, filling he thought at least six or seven containers.

He walked over to Mirage as the doors shut, the noble obviously still in recharge. He climbed back up on the berth and laid down next to his lover, wrapping his arm around his side and resting his servo on Mirage's jutting abdomen. He offlined his optics as he gently brushed over it, feeling the slightly larger-than-yesterday lump.

He nestled his faceplate into Mirage's neck, kissing it lightly. "Mirage..." he whispered.

No response.

"Mirage..." he whispered louder. The noble moaned in his recharge state, optics still offline. "'Raj, wake uuup... It's almost time for your shift."

"What shift..." he slurred.

"You're stealth mission with Jazz... and we gotta see Ratchet today."

"He said _sometime_ today..." Mirage mumbled, keeping his optics offlined. "...Not a precise time."

"I know... but Optimus wanted Ratchet to see you as soon as possible, and tomorrow afternoon too."

Mirage moaned again, finally onlining his optics. "I'm too tired..."

Hound kissed his cheek and sat up. "I know, that sparkling's draining the energy right out of you. But once you get up and drink you _regular_ antidote, you'll feel like your normal self."

Mirage huffed and slowly sat up next to Hound. He looked at his abdomen and whimpered, looking with worried optics at his larger lump. "Primus, Hound, I can't go out like this..."

"No one noticed yesterday at all, and you don't look that much bigger. Just say to the unaware that Ratchet extended the cables thick for energon to flow through after the Screamer accident."

Mirage huffed in annoyance again. He really should have thought this over beforehand... At least he was done with that terrible, mixed-up antidote and back to his regular one. "C'mon," he heard, and turned to helm to watch Hound get up off the berth.

"I'm coming..." he muttered, and got up as well. He followed Hound out the door, walking down the hallway slightly behind him as he laced his digits in front of his abdomen.

* * *

"Mirage!" Jazz called. "Watch out!"

Mirage turned, ducking at the exact moment the cardboard Decepticon shot out of the ground and shot at him with BB bullets that Spike loaned them. He back-flipped, spinning in the air as he landed on his pedes. He ran away from the cardboard, thankful that Jazz wasn't able to see his abdomen even though he knew that Jazz knew he was carrying. He still felt weird, and covered it up whenever he could.

Another cardboard shot up from the ground, making Mirage halt drastically and shoot at it. He ran back to Jazz, helping him up as the cardboard shot at him. He shot his laser rifle at the cardboard, nailing it right in his cardboard spark and making it crash to the ground.

Both panting, Mirage got Jazz to his pedes. "How..." he cycled air deeply. "How'd you get them to actually shoot?" he asked after a while.

Jazz closed his mouth and panted through his nasal ridge. "Sunny n' Sides hooked 'em up..." he muttered.

He shifted suddenly so he was out of Mirage's grasp and walked a few feet away. Mirage at first didn't think much of it, but soon realized with Jazz's odd quietness and pacing that he acted like he was mad at him for some reason.

"Jazz?" he asked after a moment. "Are you alright?"

Jazz stopped pacing and staring off into space to look at Mirage. He sighed aloud, rubbing his offlined optics with two digits. "Um... yeah... Yeah, 'Raj. I'm fine."

"... A-Are you sure?"

Jazz blew out air threw his o-shaped lips as he bent over to pick up his gun. "Yes, Mirage," he said quietly as he stood back up and walked past him. "I said I'm fine."

Mirage watched him leave, completely forgetting to cover up his lump on his abdomen. He was actually quite stunned - why was Jazz so upset? Jazz was never upset! he knew for a fact. Saying it was like saying Gears never complained about anything.

He slowly started trudging behind him, a good 20 feet in between them as they walked back to the Ark. He looked back at the cardboard dummies sprawled out all over the open field, most of them smoking from the firings.

"So I assume we're finished for the joor?" Mirage asked as they neared the Ark.

Jazz didn't respond for a while; just continued walking. "...Yeah." he breathed out as they entered the entrance and parted down the hallway, leaving Mirage standing alone and baffled. The noble quickly regained his consciousness and laced his digits in front of his plating, turning his helm as he saw Hound walk down the opposite hallway.

"Hey 'Raj," he said as he neared with a smile. "How was stealth?"

"Um... strange..." he replied, looking back at Jazz as he turned a corner. "Jazz acted like he was extremely pissed off at me. What happened during the meeting?"

"Nothing much, I mean they were surprised, but we just discussed it. Jazz actually acted depressed, and after you told me about the rec room thing I found out myself that he acted the same way. But he was real quiet and almost sad for pretty much the whole meeting."

Mirage sighed. "I really want to know what happened to him... This is so strange..."

"I know." Hound and Mirage watched the corner as if Jazz would pop back around and start dancing like his normal self. But nothing happened; a few random mechs walked back and forth, but nothing else.

"C'mon," he said, taking Mirage's servo. "Let's go see Ratchet."

* * *

Jazz walked into the rec room and spotted Prowl immediately at a booth. He walked towards him, completely putting aside the fact that he was starving in needed energon. He sat down across from him, silently, rubbing his optics.

Prowl looked up at the strange maneuver and set down his datapad. "Something wrong?"

Jazz kept his optics offline and didn't look up, shaking his helm. "No..." he nearly whispered, and was all Prowl got in reply.

"Well something's obviously the matter... tell me what it is."

Jazz did nothing.

"Come on Jazz, let it out..."

"..."

After a moment of silence, Prowl stood up and subspaced his datapad. He grabbed Jazz's servos gently and pulled them away from his faceplate, leading him up to stand on his pedes. "C'mon..." he murmured in his audio, and the two walked back to their quarters in painful silence.

Once they arrived, Jazz walked in and stood in the middle of the flooring, arm crossed over the one which held his offlined optics.

Prowl watched him from the doorway, eventually letting the doors shut behind them. He very slowly strode towards his lover, wrapping his servos around him and pulling him into a backwards hug.

"Please tell me..." he whispered into his neck. Jazz onlined, feeling like he just wanted to let the tears flow so badly. He felt Prowl kiss his neck ever so lightly, making sensors shoot through his frame like lightning.

Sighing, he eventually spoke up. "I don't know..." he whispered. "I guess I'm just angry..."

"Angry? At what?"

"...Just... the fact that he's gonna have a sparkling, I guess."

Prowl said nothing for a moment as he stared off in the distance, slightly frowning along with his bondmate. "Jazz..." he whispered in reply after a while. "Why are you angry...?

"I don't know, Prowl!" he said louder, struggling to be free from Prowl's hold, but the tactician just held him closer.

Silence again. Prowl rested his chin on Jazz's shoulder, slightly rocking them together as he held him. He could hear the saboteur cycling air with frustration, anxious to be free and go release his anger by driving off and not returning for joors they way he liked it. Being frustrated was very rare for the Porsche; the last time Prowl even remembered his lover being this upset was the joor their sparklings' left them...

"Jazz," he started again after a long pause. "I think... you're jealous..."

"I am NOT jealous!" he shouted as he jerked away from Prowl, glaring at him with widened optics swelling up with tears as his pressed lips quivered.

"I'm not saying it in an arrogant way, Jazz! I'm just saying what you're feeling even though you don't realize it-" Prowl stopped for a moment, observing his lover and how much pain he was in right now. He hated seeing him like this, even as rare as it was. "You're just angry because you miss them," he whispered.

Jazz scoffed and rested a servo on his helm. A single tear trailed down his cheek plate, and he looked down at the floor. "I'm not jealous..." he whispered again. "Even if you think I am."

"Alright," he heard in a slow whisper. "I'm sorry I accused you..."

Jazz just shook his helm and dropped his servo. "I... " he whispered, sighing, lips quivering as Prowl wrapped his servos around him again and pulled him into another embrace. "...I just don't want them to get hurt..."

"They're not going to get hurt."

"How do you know that?"

Prowl paused for a moment, thinking how to put this. He honestly didn't, couldn't know, but he _did_ know that the cause for losing their sparklings was due to a completely different reason. The discussion of the Decepticons and their vicious murderings were only brought up as a factor of the risks Hound and Mirage were taking.

"I _don't_ know..." he said at last, stroking Jazz's backstrut. "But I do know Mirage is strong, and nothing is going to happen to their sparkling like ours."

Jazz sniffled in Prowl's neck, his servo barely touching Prowl's chassis as the tactician held him close. "It's not just Mirage..." he whispered.

"I know... it's Hound too..."

After another few kliks of silence, more tears streamed down Jazz's cheek plates. Prowl pulled away and swiped his thumb under his optic, wiping the tears away. "Listen," he said. "I know it was my fault... I'm sorry... but you can't worry about other mechs when what you're worrying about was caused from a freak thing, alright?"

"It wasn't just a freak thing..."

"Yes, Jazz, it was... It was a physical problem. It was my fault. Hound is just as capable, probably even more than I._ Please,_ don't get hung up over this...don't worry about them..." He gazed down into Jazz's smoggy, blue optics which flickered up to his. He swiped the last of the tears away and gently kissed his forehelm, smiling at him as he pulled away.

"Alright?" Jazz heard him ask again. He nodded, dropping his servo from Prowl's chassis and wiping his optics.

"Yeah..." he said.

"Good." Prowl kissed his helm once more and turned to walk towards the side table, leaving Jazz standing in the middle of the flooring again. "Come on," he said as he grabbed a few blank datapads and walked towards the door. Jazz followed him slowly, quietly walking slightly behind him until Prowl reached behind and grabbed his servo so they were side-by-side as they made their way back to the rec room. He brought it up to his lips and kissed it, turning to Jazz and smiling comfortingly.

* * *

Mirage stepped pede in the med bay and walked in, Hound following him.

"Morning," they heard, and turned to see Ratchet walking out of a back room wiping his servos on a cloth. "Are you feeling alright?"

Mirage nodded as Ratchet threw the cloth down and led him to a berth. He sat him down on the edge, shining a bright light in his optics to check the dilation. "Looks good..." he murmured, setting the light down on the counter and facing a screen.

"Have you finished your antidote?"

"I finished the mixed one... I'm still working on the one for cycling."

"Alright," he muttered. He turned back to Mirage and had him lay down on his back, Hound walking around to stand next to him opposite of Ratchet.

"Okay, now this won't hurt, but it may feel a bit strange..." he said as he pulled out a jar of thick, creamy blue goop. He unscrewed the lid and dipped two clean digits inside, then swiped a small amount over Mirage's lump. Mirage gasped at the cold, tight feeling the substance gave him, only to have the medic chuckle lightly at him.

"Isn't it early to determine the gender?" Hound asked.

"Not necessarily... it really depends on the mech. Four days is almost equivalent to four and a half months of a human pregnancy, and by then you can sometimes tell which gender it is." Ratchet lidded the jar and set it down on a counter as he placed the ultrasound on the center of Mirage's abdomen. The screen next to them flickered on, and the digital picture of the sparkling popped up clearly.

Ratchet moved the ultrasound device around in the goop, flicking a small smile as the sparkling image became more distinguishable.

"Well..." he said at last. "I'm afraid... I can't determine the gender just yet, even though he's more than likely a mech." Ratchet looked down at Mirage with a neutral smile as he pulled the device away and switched off the ultrasound. "But Prime wants you back tomorrow so I can retrieve information for the announcement, so we'll know by then."

"Alright," the noble said. "That's okay, I can wait a joor."

Ratchet smirked as he returned the ultrasound to its storage area. "Good news is he's a healthy one... seems like the antidote worked perfectly."

Hound helped Mirage up on his pedes and walk over to where Ratchet was. "Now," the medic said. "You're almost out of your antidote, right?"

Mirage nodded.

"Well store this in the rec room cooler and drink a little just once a joor. After you finish." He handed Hound the lidded energon cube.

"What's this for?"

"It will help Mirage to not feel so weak and tired and give him a boost of energy, and'll help the sparkling form efficiently especially with Mirage's cycling condition. If you do as I say, there's a huge possibility that the sparkling won't be as affected with the condition."

Mirage looked at the cube and smiled. "Thank you, Ratchet," he said.

"Not a problem."

As Hound and Mirage turned to leave the med bay, Ratchet grabbed Hound's arm after Mirage walked out. "Wait, Hound..."

"Yes, Ratchet?"

"I, um, just wanted to... apologize... for the last couple joors. I know I was just being stubborn..."

"No, no, Ratch, I understand. You were being protective and concerned. I even read up on the history of sparklings and why you saw them as such dangerous creatures, and I guess if I were you I'd have said the same things."

Ratchet smirked and crossed his arms. "Yes... But I'm sorry that I was mean to you."

"You weren't mean. But it's alright. Thank you."

Mirage popped back in the doorway as Hound turned to leave again. "I want you back here at 0900 sharp tomorrow, ya hear?" he called.

"Got it," he heard from the hallway, and he returned to his wash station as the med bay doors shut.

* * *

"Primus..." the noble panted. "...You're too kinky..."

"I can be less kinky..." Hound panted in reply.

Mirage shook his helm slightly and moaned as Hound repeatedly hit a main sensor node. "Oh... oh... Primus... Hound... I know... you can do better than that..."

Hound smirked as he thrusted up deeper into the tightly-clenching valve, making the noble shriek with excitement. He grabbed his hips tighter, rocking the noble with himself with every thrust.

"Ohhh..." he let out long and low, overload peeking fast. Mirage looked down into his lover's faceplate, those sweet expressions made the overload rise quicker. He started bouncing up and down on Hound's spike, gasping as he slammed him frame back down on it.

"I..." Hound started. "I... oh... _Mirage!_" He gasped and bucked wildly as he overloaded hard into his lover, transfluid erupting from his spike excitedly. Mirage quickly shoved two digits down into Hound's dripping valve, making him keen with so much pleasure it was almost painful. He thrusted the digits hard, trying to ignore his own overload nearing as he felt Hound buck harshly again into him. He shouted out Mirage's name again as he overloaded a second time, riding the digits and still thrusting hard into his valve.

Luckily for him, he had the container right next to him, or else he would have completely forgot. His overload had barely settled before Mirage overloaded hard, bucking violently as transfluid shot from the tip of his painfully erect spike. A long spurt landed on Hound's abdomen just before the scout placed the container on the tip, letting the rest spurt out into the jar.

"Dear Primus..." Mirage pitched in an exhausted, high vocal. "Sweet... slagger..."

Hound chuckled as he panted, tiredly looking into Mirage's lust-filled optics. He lightly petted the hip plating, feeling his quivering spike still snugly enclosed inside Mirage's clenching valve. Mirage lowered his helm so it rested on Hound's shoulder, listening to Hound's deep cycling of air as well as his own.

Mirage keened softly as Hound pulled out and retracted his spike back into his panel. The noble closed his own, and eventually lifted his helm as he caught his breath.

"Are you okay?" Hound asked him short and soft.

Mirage nodded, knowing Hound was concerned again since his cycling was still off-balance a little. "I'm fine... Just too hard of an overload..."

Hound laughed as he turned his helm. Both mechs looked at the side table, at least 10 containers stacked or scattered among the surface. "Great Primus," Hound eventually spoke, wondering how on Cybertron Mirage was able to overload however many times required to produce that much trans-energon without offlining already.

"Perhaps it is the sparkling," Mirage said as if he read his CPU. "Ratchet even said that the sparkling _and_ the antidote will give me a boost of energy..."

"Yeah... that's probably it."

Mirage wiggled off of Hound and fell to the side of the berth next to him. "Well... whatever it was, it made me exhausted..."

Hound chuckled as he stood up off the berth. "Recharge then. I'll clean up."

Mirage sighed and offlined his optics as Hound walked into the wash room. He returned with a damp wash cloth and wiped the puddle of transfluid away on the berth, holding up the cloth and shoving it in Mirage's face.

"Smell," he giggled.

Mirage onlined his optics and scoffed, taking a big whiff of the transfluid-soaked cloth. "Mmm... smells like you."

Hound chuckled again and walked off into the wash room. He switched off the light and walked back over to Mirage, laying down on the berth and wrapping an arm around his midriff. "Goodnight..." he whispered playfully, making Mirage smile, and kissed his cheek plate.

"Goodnight, Hound."

Hound listened to Mirage's cycling of air simmer to a softer pace, telling him he was in recharge. He laid there in the darkness, paying attention to every notch of Mirage's quiet cycling through his vents. He gave himself time to think; he hadn't done that in a while. He thought about the sparkling... how it was already half-way formed... In four days they would be creators, taking care of their little mech, feeding him, playing with him, teaching him, defending him, protecting him...

What if it was femme? he asked himself. Don't be ridiculous, he told himself. Femmes were rare on Cybertron as it is... a femme on Earth? Absurd. As much as he would love that, he put the thought aside. He wouldn't get his hopes up. A mech was plenty fine for him.

He offlined his own optics and let himself fall into recharge, dreaming peacefully about Mirage and the sparkling.


	7. The Surprises Never Cease

**Basis:** G1

**Pairings: **HoundxMirage

Okay, I lied, this chapter has like no smut in it... oh well. You'll live. (Sorry... next chapter.)

* * *

**Day 5**

"Hey, Mirage..." Jazz let out slowly as he approached the noble at a booth. "How ya doin'?"

"Um, okay... thanks for asking..."

"Listen," he said as he sat down across from him beside Bumblebee and muttered a sorry, only to have the minibot laugh back. "I just wanted to apologize for me acting so weird yesterday. I know it was pretty awkward... I was just frustrated about... things."

"That's alright, Jazz," he replied. "I understand." Mirage still hadn't figured out _why_ Jazz acted weird around sparkling-talk, or even _what happened_ to his own. I figured they'd grown up or something... If he didn't even know he _had_ sparklings, odds are they happened long before he was an Autobot, considering he was still fairly new to the team. **  
**

"Um... Well, I better get goin', Prowl's gonna wonder why I'm not at Prime's meeting. I'll see ya later."

"Alright Jazz. And thank you."

Jazz flicked a smile as he stood up and walked out the rec room. Bumblebee scooted back over to the middle of his seat, giving Mirage a look of confusion. "What was that about?"

"Nothing, Bee. Just... stealth yesterday."

"Oh..." Bumblebee sipped his energon silently as Mirage stared off in the distance. The noble jumped out of frame when the mini-spy's pager went off, beeping frantically for the whole room to hear and stare. "Whoops..." he said to himself, jumping up. "I gotta go, catch ya later!" he called as he emptied his cube and ran out the doors.

Mirage barely had time to wave back, and continued sipping his own energon. He looked down at his abdomen, thankful that Bumblebee hadn't paid any mind to it. He rested a servo on it as he felt it tighten, no doubt from the sparkling shifting even the slightest bit, and drank his cube with the other.

All of a sudden his own pager went off, but not so loud and only two beeps. He detached it from his subsection and pressed the screen's button, finding Hound's faceplate smiling at him. "You ready?" he asked him, and Mirage nodded his helm as he smiled back.

"I'll be there in five kliks."

He switched off the pager and stood up, placing his empty cube with the other dirty ones and walked out the door with his servos laced in front of his abdomen. As he walked down the hallway, few mechs even looked at him, and if they did, it was at his faceplate to say hello. He'd casually smile back or nod or say hello in reply, walking faster to the med bay to meet up with Hound and escape this awkwardness.

He spotted Hound at the end of the next hallway and made his way towards him. "Morning," Hound said cheerfully as Mirage neared and took the noble's servo. He kissed his cheek plate as part of the greeting, happy that they'd finally be able to determine the gender and such.

The med bay doors swooshed open. "Right on time!" Ratchet called cheerily as well. He walked back inside his med bay with the two following him, and set up a monitor and the ultrasound.

"Primus," he chuckled as Mirage sat down on the berth.

"What?"

"Nothing, I'm just... surprised, I guess... Haven't used one of these since Jazz was carrying. But that was... *pfff* eons ago."

Hound chuckled and looked at the screen as Ratchet smeared the blue goop around on Mirage's lump. Mirage wanted so badly to just ask Ratchet what happened to Jazz's sparklings... why he was acting so weird. Mirage obviously wasn't there for the meeting so he only heard about the Deceptions' murderings from Hound. Did that really happen to Jazz and Prowl?

Ratchet placed the ultrasound device in the goop, moving it around slightly as he looked at the screen. A clear image of the sparkling popped up, and the three mechs' optics widened with laughter as they saw the sparkling clench and unclench his servos and shift around.

Ratchet kept looking for that little spike to determine the gender. Until a new-sparked sparkling was at least two joors old, their panel would still be developing and the spike [or no spike] would be bear to the world, just like a human. But after then, the panel would emerge and cover it, just like fully-grown mechs.

"There it is," he said, smile widening. "Do you see it?" He pointed a digit to the screen where he saw the little spike, showing them he was a mech.

"Yeah..." they both replied curiously.

After a while, Ratchet's smile dropped. "Wait..." he said slowly. "Um... That's not a spike... I think that's his servo... or foot..." He moved the ultrasound device around a bit, getting a better image of the sparkling.

All three mechs' optics grew wide as the sparkling was turned so his front faced them. "By Primus..." Ratchet said to himself, having a hard time believing what he was seeing.

Hound and Mirage's jaws dropped slightly as they saw what Ratchet saw.

No spike.

"It's... a femme..." the medic spoke up, breaking the silence.

"Sweet Cybertron..." Hound whispered.

Mirage said nothing. He stared at the screen, bright optics wide and jaw agape. Was it real? He was carrying a_ femme_? Femmes were extremely rare, he knew... what were the odds? He laughed a little, trying to wrap his processor around the fact that he and Hound had produced that .01%-chance femme.

He was so caught up in the fact that he jumped when Hound rested a servo on his shoulder. "Are you sure that's right, Ratch?" he heard him ask.

"Yes, 99.9% sure." Ratchet paused for a moment, staring at the screen intently, scanning over every perimeter possible. "Primus... I still can't believe it... I haven't delivered a femme since before the Golden Age..." he replied, chuckling.

"I've never even _seen_ a femme sparkling," Mirage chimed in.

"I'm not surprised... given how young you are. Which is probably another factor to take in on how you ended up sparking a femme, and Hound too as a matter of fact. That, and you being a noble and all... also quite rare."

Mirage closed his mouth as Ratchet switched off the ultrasound and stored it back in its place. "Now, tell me how many containers you've filled with the formulated energon."

"Around 30, more or less..." Hound answered.

"Good... I'd say do another 30; fill the pitcher to the top. You'll have tonight and tomorrow to do that, and the sparkling at this state will definitely add and extra kink..." he smirked. "After tomorrow your abdomen will probably be too large to interface. Understand?"

Both mechs nodded with small smirks on their faceplates.

"Fantastic," he smiled as he clapped his servos together, walking away. "I'll tell Prime the good news."

* * *

Mirage turned on the water in his wash station, feeling the warmth drizzle down his tense frame. It felt so good, especially after interfacing five times in a row right after their visit with Ratchet.

He lifted his servos so the water pressed against his wrists, reliving some of the pain where the handcuffs had been. He picked up the cleansing fluid and wash cloth, gently wiping Hound's paint marks off his chassis. He slowly circled it around his abdomen, turning so the few mechs in the room weren't able to see him.

He stopped, however, when he felt something, an awkward feeling in his chambers. He rested a servo on it, waiting, gasping as he felt it again.

_*Primus,*_ he though, chuckling. He knew about that feeling. He waited again, gasping with a large smile as he felt it a third time.

He could almost feel those tiny pedes brushing up again his abdomen, kicking.

It filled him with joy; he couldn't wait to show Hound. He felt the little sparkling kick lightly a fourth time as he continued washing, trying to hurry so he could get out of this public area and tell Hound his discovery.

Just then Bumblebee ran over to Mirage, the startled noble noticing how chipper he seemed.

"Hey, 'Raj," he said as he stopped in front of him. Mirage tried his best to turn and hide his abdomen... Just two more cycles, he thought. Then the whole Ark would know. Don't let them find out sooner...

"Yes, Bee?"

"Well... I, um, I was just wondering..." He stuttered, trying to catch a glimpse of Mirage's torso that he seemed to be hiding from him.

"Yes, Bumblebee?" the noble repeated, sounding a little on edge towards the minibot, after the spy said nothing for a moment.

"Oh... sorry..." he muttered. "I was just, kind of noticing... your, um, your abdomen..."

Mirage's optics looked more embarrassed, gazing at the wall as he faced away from Bumblebee. "I was just wondering..." he continued slowly, quietly. "Are you... carrying?"

Mirage's optics widened at the question, as if he'd just insulted him. But he didn't know why he felt so embarrassed... he_ knew_ that carrying a sparkling would obviously draw attention to him... Why did he feel angry? Why did he have to be so paranoid... so scared? Why did he wish that everyone would leave him alone... like he regretted getting pregnant in the first place? He wondered if Ratchet was right; maybe the sparkling would be better off not existing. Those 10 astroseconds between Bumblebee asking that one question and him standing there, waiting for a response, flooding so many thoughts through Mirage's processor that he thought he would faint... thinking terrible, uncontrolled thoughts about his sparkling... if it was too late to put the little femme out of her misery before it even came upon her...

A sudden kick inside his chamber brought him back to reality. Of course he didn't regret it. That was what the official announcement was for. To let everyone know, so he didn't have to hide for the rest of his lifestream. So he'd still feel loved by all the Autobots... and not like they all were against him for having a sparkling. The mortifying thoughts of abortion left his CPU, like he hadn't even thought about them. How _could_ he think about them? Primus... he swore to himself; how could he be so selfish...

"Mirage?" he heard from small, quiet vocals, and turned back around to the minibot.

"I'm sorry..." he whispered after those 20 astroseconds of awkward silence. "I was just thinking... but um," he chuckled, uncovering his torso slightly as he lifted one servo up behind his helm nervously. He looked down into Bumblebee's bright, blue optics shining up at him, patiently waiting for his answer.

"Uhmm... yes, Bee. I..." he sighed. "I am."

Bumblebee said nothing, did nothing but gasp to himself with his barely-agape jaw. Mirage sank into the warm water pelting his back as he watched Bumblebee, praying that he wouldn't just run off and tell every mech on board.

No, he thought. Surely not... Bee wouldn't do that.

"Really?" Bumblebee asked after a moment, a rather wide smile spreading over his faceplate.

Mirage smiled, lips together, lightly, nodding his helm so softly it looked like he didn't even move. "Mm-hm," he let out, watching the spy's smile grew even wider.

He noticed Bumblebee's optics flicker down to his abdomen, and immediately felt intimidated once more. He shot his freed servo down so it laced with the other, covering his lump, hiding it from Bee.

He then remembered to let it go... It's only Bumblebee, he told himself. Don't be paranoid... act like he's Hound. He gently unlaced his digits, sliding them to the side of his abdomen as he watched for any passing or staring mechs. He very slowly continued until Bee could see, fluttering his optics down to look at the yellow mech's expression of excitement and curiosity smiling at the scene.

"Wow..." he heard him whisper, and saw a servo reach up to it. His smiled lessened, then reappeared as he remembered to just let it go again. He felt the small, black servo rest on his lump, watching Bee's faceplate as he chuckled almost nervously.

After a while, Mirage spoke up again, whispering. "If you hold still long enough, you can feel 'em kick."

Bumblebee looked up at the noble with both smiling lips and optics at the words. He looked back down, remaining as perfectly still and quiet as he possibly could, wanting to feel the sparkling kick so badly.

Mirage chuckled as he saw Bumblebee gasp, feeling himself how the sparkling kicked rather hard at the new touch. "Weird, isn't it?"

Bumblebee nodded with the biggest grin Mirage had ever seen. "Yeah..." he replied as he pulled his servo away. "So it's a mech? Or do you know yet?"

Mirage's pressed smile grew wider as he shook his helm slowly. Bumblebee gasped again, staring with bright, wide optics at the noble as he realized it wasn't a mech.

"_No way!_" he yelled, Mirage laughing as he shushed the excited minibot. He was thankful not many mechs were even in the wash room, and those who were had already turned back to their original positions.

"Sorry..." he whispered to Mirage. "But a _femme?_ Are you kidding?"

Mirage shook his helm as he laughed again. "I'm afraid not, Bee. Ratchet checked this morning."

"Primus..." was all he said after a while.

"Prime's got a meeting scheduled in two cycles to announce it to everyone. So please... keep this to yourself...?"

"Yeah, sure Mirage, no problem... I gotta run, though. Thanks for letting me... you know, feel him..." he laughed as he turned to leave.

"You're welcome, Bee." He smiled as he waved the minibot bye, finally returning to his shower.

_*So much for hurrying to Hound...*_ he thought. But he figured that maybe a sparkling wouldn't be such a bad thing after all.

* * *

That evening, nearly every mech aboard the Ark was gathered in the rec room.

Ratchet stood talking to Optimus as Ironhide stood behind him with a servo on the medic's hip. He tried to hold back giggles and push Ironhide away, but it never worked.

Eventually Optimus needed to start the meeting and left, Ratchet turning around to face his bondmate and glare lovingly at him. Ironhide took his servo and lead them to an empty booth, smiling.

"Thanks," he said sternly.

"No problem."

Ratchet gave Ironhide a look that made his smile disappear. "Sorry..." he muttered, making the medic laugh.

"It's fine... I guess I'm just nervous..." Ironhide grasped Ratchet's servo again and kissed it.

"Don't be... you've already lightened up about the sparkling. I've been watching you; you seem happier."

Ratchet smirked. "I hadn't realized how long it'd been since I delivered a sparkling, 'Hide... probably, three full millennia, at the minimum."

Ironhide paused for a moment, watching Ratchet's face. "And we never did get a chance to have one of our own..." he whispered, kissing Ratchet's servo again as the CMO looked up at him. He sighed, looking almost in pain, optics filled with sadness.

"I know..." he sighed in reply as his optics flickered back down to the table.

Optimus cleared his vocals and hushed everybody down. "Alright, alright," he shouted over the loud voices scattered throughout the room. "Mechs! Attention!"

Every mech quit talking, the room filling with dead silence as they turned towards their leader on the risen platform. "Thank you. Now, you may or may not know why you're here this evening, but we've scheduled this meeting on behalf of some very important information need be shared with everyone."

A few whispers fluttered across the room as Optimus continued. "Mechs," he started slowly. "...We have an expectant."

Several gasps left the silence, Mirage facing Hound worryingly. "Don't worry," he mouthed to him, smiling slightly. Mirage slowly turned his helm back to the leader, hoping that he _wouldn't have_ to worry.

"Ratchet has informed me that the carrier is five days along, but the sparkling has a rare feature."

By now you could hear a micro screw drop. "I am aware that many of you are thinking the sparkling is a mech... But I am pleased to announce that _she_ is a femme."

A couple more gasps left the room, Optimus noticing a few smiles flicker on here and there. Jazz's mouth went agape as Prowl's optics widened, sighing heavily with his own optics filling with grief. He closed his jaw as he turned to Prowl, almost telepathically telling him "I told you so". Every mech knew that femmes were much weaker than mechs, the sparkling state being the weakest. Prowl looked back at Optimus, sighing quietly to himself.

The leader continued. "Now we understand the risks involved with sparklings, correct?" Several yeses escaped the crowd. "And so do our future creators."

Optimus repeated the rules and risks anyway, refreshing everyone's processors. He reminded everyone of Megatron and the killings, glancing at Mirage and Hound, at Jazz and Prowl, answering any questions anyone asked him.

* * *

Meanwhile back in the communications office, Red Alert and Blaster typed away at screens as they listened to the meeting.

"Who knew..." the boombox laughed to himself as another system warning popped up.

"Who knew what?"

"A sparklin', Red," he chirped. "A _sparkling_ on this Ark. I'm still havin' trouble wrappin' my CPU around it."

Red Alert chuckled a bit. "I'm honestly not that surprised..."

"Why's that?"

"Well... before you were an Autobot, I imagine, Jazz and Prowl had their own sparklings."

Blaster dropped his servos from the console and clutched the stand. "You're kidding..."

"No," he said cheerily. "I'm not."

"Well... what happened to 'em?"

"Hm?"

"The sparklings... did they grow up? Or what?"

"Oh, Primus, I don't know, Blaster... rumor has it Megatron or some 'Con murdered them. I was away on Cybertron over the period they 'left'."

Blaster stroked his chin as his fifth system warning took over the screen. Huffing, he typed away at the keyboard, clearing it up.

"Besides..." Red Alert continued, Blaster looking his way. "Didn't you and Tracks try for a sparkling?"

"Pfff... Primus... that was... eons ago, Red. Back when this war was much less... evil... than it is now."

Red Alert looked over at his fellow communications director as the boombox got back to work, swiping the screen with a digit. "Well..." he started slowly. "If these creators thought it would be okay to have one now, what's stopping you?"

Blaster stopped once more and turned his helm to Red Alert, looking puzzled. After a moment, he went back to the screen, shaking his helm and chuckling. "Nah, Red... I guess... I thought I was ready back then. I still don't think I am..."

His typing slowed down as he felt Red Alert's optics piercing his outer armor. "B'sides, just because another couple is havin' a sparkling doesn't mean I still want one."

"I never said you did, Blaster. I'm just throwing out my opinions. That's all."

The boombox hummed in reply as he swiped the screen one last time before gasping.

"What is it?" pitched Red Alert, walking over to Blaster's monitor.

Blaster swore colorfully under his breath as he zoomed in on the subject and comm. linked his best spy. "It's Ravage..." he said after a while, running out the doors.

* * *

"...after she is born... sparkling-sitting... watching... playing..."

Bumblebee seemed to only pick out the words of Optimus' message that he wanted to hear. He simply couldn't wait until that sparkling was born... he'd practically be her older brother, playing with her, sparkling-sitting her, watching over her...

He jumped when his pager beeped frantically. Most of the mechs turned to him, the minibot jumping up and running out the rec room, waving bye to Optimus as he noticed he'd caught his optic.

"This is Bumblebee," he answered as he switched off the beeping and opened the link.

"Bee! Get to air duct A18, Ravage is spyin' directly over the meeting... no doubt recorded everything about anything."

"I'm on it..." He turned and ran back the other way, passing the rec room to Windcharger's quarters where duct A18 was located directly above.

"I've activated the break-in walls so he's trapped, and I don't think he knows it... But _be careful_; you'll have just enough time to open the right end and slip inside, but there won't be much room. If he attacks, you're pretty much toast..."

Bumblebee chuckled. He knew the boombox always loved using human phrases, mainly via Spike and Carly. "Affirmative, Blaster."

He closed the line temporarily as he entered the small gunner's quarters and spotted the air duct entrance. He climbed up on the berth and jumped, clasping perfectly around the entrance and pushing the door with his helm, pulling himself up.

He immediately turned a sharp left and crawled frantically, following Blaster's orders as to where Ravage was spying.

He opened the link back up when he neared the minicon.

"Okay Blaster, I think I can see the break-in wall..." he whispered.

"Fantastic, now there should be a key pad to your right, right next to the wall. Ya see it?"

"Yeah..." he muttered, squinting as he cautiously crawled towards the wall and spotting the pad.

"Alright, enter code 1-9-8-7-7-0..." He heard the boombox ask Red Alert in the background if that was right; when he heard him tell him yes, he tapped in the code.

"You have approximately 30 nanokliks before that wall opens, Bee," Red Alert took over the link. "Are you aware of your plan?"

Bumblebee smiled as he nodded. "Of course I am." And with that, he pulled out his laser pistol, waiting four exact nanokliks until the wall slid down and a pair of bright red optics glared at him threateningly, and launched himself forward as he cut the link and the wall slid shut behind them.

* * *

The meeting still continued as if nothing was happening.

Probably because no one _knew_ something was happening; that was the point of _stealth_.

Very few questions were being asked, actually, which made Mirage feel more calm. He just looked up into Hound's smiling optics, focusing on them whenever he was nervous, like now.

Prowl slid around in the corner booth to hold Jazz when Bumblebee left, stroking his upper arm and massaging his neck, resting his helm against his. He kissed it lightly whenever Jazz needed it, comforting him, almost telepathically telling him back that everything would be alright.

All of a sudden, a loud crash sounded throughout the whole ceiling, everyone pausing and looking up. Another crash echoed, making few mechs shriek in surprise.

Optimus figured out what it was. "Alright, mechs, nothing to worry about... let's finish up this meeting, shall we?"

Mirage rolled his optics in relief, Hound chuckling at him.

Jazz looked away from the ceiling and sank into Prowl's warm embrace, burying his helm in the tactician's neck.

Another small sound and faint yelp shouted from the ceiling, but few mechs paid any mind to it.

* * *

"Gaahh!" Bumblebee shouted in pain, straining as Ravage pinned him down. "Primus... s- slagger!"

Ravage snarled at his opponent spy, energon saliva drooling down onto Bumblebee's faceplate. He revealed his fangs, snapping them at Bumblebee, the minibot widening his optics as he jerked his helm away just as Ravage leaned in for the kill.

He eventually found enough strength to push the minicon off, throwing him to the floor and grasping for his pistol. He aimed it nervously at the spy, servos trembling as energon bled out of seems. Ravage snarled angrily at Bumblebee, leaping up and throwing himself at the Beetle.

Bumblebee shut his optics and turned his helm as he pulled the trigger, hearing first a loud boom then a growl of pain, a large mass hitting the floor of the air ducts, followed by silence.

He heard himself panting. He onlined one optic, wincing as he spotted Ravage on the floor, dead, a rather large hole right in the middle on his chassis, energon flowing out of it. He lowered himself and crawled towards the spy, carefully, prepared for anything unexpected, observing the offlined cat-like creature.

Blaster broke his silence by forcing open the comm. link. "Are you alright in there, Bee?" he asked, his vocals trembly. "You kinda kicked out my main camera so I lost ya in there."

"Yeah... sorry about that..." he panted. "I'm alright... neck's a little scruffed up, but nothing big," Bumblebee replied as he re-keyed the pad and kept the break-in walls open. He grabbed Ravage's back limp legs, dragging him out of the air ducts as he talked to Blaster.

"Sounds good, I'll have Ratchet look ya over. I'm proud o' ya, Bee."

The minibot scoffed. "Thanks, Blaster," was all he said, both mechs grinning cheesily to themselves.

Bumblebee finally reached Windcharger's quarters and threw Ravage down on the berth, closing the duct entrance as he jumped down. "Oh, and you're not going to believe this..." he heard Blaster speak again.

"Believe what?"

"You missed the meeting; Prime said Mirage was the carrier!"

Bumblebee paused for a moment as he walked with Ravage draped over his shoulder. "Nah," he softly replied after a minute, smiling. "I believe it."


	8. Tears of Reason

**Basis:** G1

**Pairings: **ProwlxJazz, HoundxMirage,

Okay, WARNING: (smut)...and mushy stuff... P&J moment gets a little sobby. It's a nice twist though, I guess.

And like I said, explanations are almost here... a little scene with Jazz and Mirage helps a lot (whether it be in this chapter, next chapter, or bOtH). xP

I wanted to add a P&J sex scene, simply because Jazz is like, just as important as Mirage... And yes, Prowl calls him "baby". I think it's sweet. Lol.

Enjoy!

* * *

"NO!" shouted Megatron as he slammed his fist on the monitor's stand. "_How_ could this happen?" Ravage's life signal just went offline, much to the Decepticon leader's dismay. Not only did they lose precious information, but one of their best spies, too.

"By all means, Lord Megatron, Ravage was out of his boundaries. Those air ducts were not on the map..." replied Thundercracker.

"That doesn't mean he couldn't defend himself from that... _despicable_, weak Autobot scum..." he growled back.

"Megatron, please," started Thrust. "Soundwave is just as upset."

Megatron turned and noticed his communication specialist staring out the window of their base. He sighed, grumpily, deciding to let it go.

"Alright, fine... But next time we send a spy out, you _will_ make sure he comes back," he muttered to his underlings, glaring at Starscream. "I had a deep feeling something odd was going on with those Auto-twerps... and now we've lost all information thanks to your lacking of base expertise."

The seekers looked at one another as Megatron walked away, grudgingly.

* * *

**Day 6**

Hound onlined tiredly... he could tell it wasn't near time to start shifts. The first thing he spotted was Mirage, whimpering, stirring in his own recharge state.

That must have been what woken him up, he thought.

"Mirage..." he whispered. He repeated his name, gently shaking him to wake him up. "'Raj, wake up."

Okay, this started to make him nervous. He leaned over to glance at his faceplate which was facing the wall away from them. He looked like he was simply having a nightmare or something... He kissed his cheek plate and whispered right in his audio, the noble onlining with a jump.

"What's wrong?" Hound asked.

"I... don't know..." Mirage responded after a moment, almost breathlessly. "Um... my chambers..." Mirage gripped his abdomen in pain, keening through pressed lips. "It hurts."

"Oh," Hound sighed nervously. "Do you think it's from the injury?"

Mirage managed to shake his helm. "No... I think it's just formation cramps... from the sparkling."

The scout lightly chuckled at this. "That's right," he remembered. "Ratchet said you might experience pain... I guess I'm too tired to remember things correctly."

Mirage cracked a smile and turned his frame so he faced his bondmate. "That's okay," he winced. "Everyone forgets things."

Hound wrapped his arm around Mirage's frame, holding him close and kissing his nasal ridge. "Want me to call Ratchet?"

"No, I think I'm fine." He kissed back on Hound's lips, smiling at him. "Primus, I just hope this doesn't last all joor for the next three joors..."

"It'll probably be off and on, 'Raj. Don't worry; if it gets worse we can call Ratchet."

"Alright," he replied as he offlined his optics.

"Goodnight," Hound whispered teasingly after a moment when the noble said nothing else. He kissed his helm and offlined his own optics, snuggling up to Mirage and falling back into recharge.

* * *

Jazz couldn't recharge that night.

Prowl sat up next to him on a couch in the rec room, an arm wrapped around him and stroking his upper arm. The television flickered colorful lights, lighting up the whole room. The sound was barely audible, though, as neither were really watching it.

"Jazz..." Prowl said at last after 10 kliks of silence save for the television.

Jazz said nothing in response. He just kept his helm rested against Prowl's shoulder, optics staring off in the distance, painfully and restlessly.

"Jazz..." Prowl whispered again. Jazz's optics flickered around, subconsciously almost, as if he was in another world.

"Can you tell me exactly how you feel?"

Jazz said nothing for a good while. Prowl waited patiently, knowing Jazz was suffering; he could see his gentle lips, quivering the slightest. He continued to look at his bondmate, starting to wonder if Jazz was even listening to him.

"I don't need therapy, again," he saboteur whispered softly.

"I'm not giving you therapy, Jazz. No one is. That's over. Just tell me what you're feeling."

Jazz paused again in the quiet room, observing how the dull television colors made switching patterns on the floor and energon table.

"Grief..." he said weakly after a while.

Prowl looked at him concernedly, listening to his words.

"Pain..." he whispered. "Jealousy..."

Prowl widened his optics the slightest bit and cracked a tiny, reassuring smile.

"Exhaustion..."

Prowl chuckled softly as Jazz smiled lightly back. "I know you're tired..." the tactician spoke quietly. "Why don't we go back to our quarters."

"I'm not gonna recharge, Prowl..." Jazz spoke, it being the longest sentence he'd said all night.

Prowl sighed as he held his lover closer, ever so slightly kissing his cheek plate. "Alright... we'll just stay here," he replied after a moment.

"I'm sorry you feel that way, Jazz," he continued.

Jazz said nothing.

"But... maybe, in the future..."

"Prowl," Jazz interrupted him. "Don't even go there."

"Jazz, what are the odds of something like that happening again?"

"Prowl! Just... you know I couldn't live with myself if something happened to them again... I barely survived the first time, and only because of all those years of Ratchet's mental therapy."

Prowl paused again, looking over his bondmate. "Okay..." he whispered. "Whatever you want to do."

At this point Jazz wanted to cry. He did cry. All he _wanted to do_ was be a creator... he'd wanted it all his lifestream. He gives birth to two split-sparks, and they die. All he _wanted to do_ was hold them in his arms again... right now... loving them, protecting them from the thing that killed them. His helm buried itself in Prowl's shoulder, tears bursting from his optics in pain and sorrow.

Prowl shushed him repeatedly, comfortingly, stroking his frame lovingly. "Shhh, Jazz... it's alright..."

Jazz choked on the tears pouring into his mouth, sobbing quietly as not to draw attention from the night-shift Autobots out in the hallway. Prowl unclipped his visor so the tears wouldn't rust it over, revealing his grief-filled scarred optics that were drowning in thin energon.

"Shhhhh... everything will be okay, Jazz. Please, listen to me... We're gonna be okay. Mirage is going to be fine..."

Jazz sniffled in a deep cycle of air, servo clutching weakling on Prowl's chassis. "I... I-I'm sorr-y..." he choked as more tears streamed down his cheek plate.

"No, no, Jazz... don't be sorry. You did nothing wrong."

"I-I'm sorry I'm be-ing so selfish..."

Prowl chuckled a little. "Selfish? Primus, Jazz, selfish is the last thing you are." He pulled away a little and gripped Jazz's chin in his servo, making him look up at him. "You're crying because you're worried about Mirage..." he said as he wiped the wet cheek plate with his thumb. "Now tell me how that's selfish."

Jazz sniffled again as he stifled the tears. "I just miss them, Prowl... the thought of trying again just makes my spark shrink. I'm jealous deep down. You know that."

"Anyone would feel the same way, Jazz... you didn't deserve to lose your sparklings. It wasn't fair..."

"It wasn't fair to you, either!" he responded as he sat up face-to-face with Jazz. Prowl looked at him in his glassy optics, those drenched, exhausted, painful optics, he knew. "You couldn't help what you did..." he whispered.

Prowl sighed. Now_ he_ felt like _he_ wanted to cry. "I'm sorry," he whispered faintly after a while, wiping away more of Jazz's tears. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. If I could take it back, I would. Believe me."

Jazz slightly smiled. "I know ya would, Prowl." The tactician smiled back as he leaned in and slowly kissed him, his gentle lips moving the smallest bit to kiss him so passionately. That's all his bondmate needed; careful, passionate loving. Some TLC, as the humans said.

Jazz breathed out heavily as Prowl pulled away, most of his tension finally leaving his frame. "Let's go recharge..." he spoke eventually.

Prowl smiled again in reply, taking Jazz's servo and turning off the television. They walked servo-in-servo back to their quarters in silence, seeing no other mechs in the pitch-black hallways.

When they reached their quarters, Prowl gently closed the doors behind them as Jazz made his way to the berth. He laid down on his backstrut, Prowl shortly following him and wrapping an arm around him.

"I love you..." Prowl murmured into his audio. Jazz smirked, turning his helm and kissing him.

"Mmmm... I still feel kinda bad..."

Prowl grinned widely again, knowing exactly what Jazz needed. "Then let me make you feel good..." he replied slyly.

He flipped over so he laid atop of his lover, smothering him in a deep kiss. Jazz immediately dipped two digits in Prowl's creases of armor, tickling sensor nodes repeatedly and making Prowl moan slightly into his mouth. He giggled tiredly, grasping Prowl's helm and turning his own to deepen the kiss.

He reached around and teased the tactician's doorwings, Prowl gasping in response. Jazz laughed at the reaction as he pulled away, bucking upwards playfully into his lover's interface panel.

Prowl happily obliged, snapping open his panel and emerging his stiff spike. Jazz dove a servo down to grasp it, Prowl moaning once more in pleasure as Jazz pumped it.

"Hmmm... use this to make me feel good..." he said kinkily.

Prowl smirked breathlessly, nipping at Jazz's neck as the saboteur clicked open his own panel and continued bucking. Prowl pulled his erect spike out of Jazz's clutch and pierced the platelets, earning a cry from the one underneath him.

"Ohh..." he heard Jazz groan. He gently kept a constant, slow place, pleasuring Jazz's valve just as much as his own throbbing spike.

He smacked Jazz across the faceplate out of reflex as the saboteur clenched unbelievably hard around his spike. Jazz merely laughed as he kept one servo on Prowl's hip plating with the other on his stinging cheek plate.

"Primus..." he panted. "Sorry..."

Jazz waved it off as he giggled, bucking kinkily into Prowl while panting slightly himself. "You just made it kinkier..."

Prowl giggled as he picked up the pace, thrusting so deep that the base of his panel hit Jazz's valve entrance. Jazz cried out at the intrusion, gripping the hip plating with both servos tightly. Prowl rocked him with his movements, smiling at him almost evilly.

"Prowl... nnggg... harder... please..." he begged, panting harshly.

The SIC pulled out so the tip remained inside, making Jazz whimper desperately. He shrieked when Prowl thrusted back in hard, stimulating a dozen sensor nodes simultaneously. "Ah!" he yelped, Prowl panting harder as he thrusted frantically, anxious to make his lover overload and relax.

"Nggg... Oh, Prowl," he gasped as he offlined his optics, focusing on nothing but that thick spike filling his tight valve, feeling his climax reach its peak. "I... I'm... there... Oohhh..."

He tossed his helm back as he overloaded hard, bucking harshly up into Prowl as he felt the transfluid gush out his excited valve. Prowl gasped out Jazz's name as he came, overloading into his lover, bucking uncontrollably into that extremely tight valve, burning transfluid erupting from his almost-painfully erect spike.

Prowl let out a high-pitched shriek as he finally cycled a breath before collapsing on top of Jazz. "Great... Primus..."

Jazz chuckled as he panted. "Whoooo... I needed that..."

"Thank you," Jazz whispered as Prowl pulled up to look him in the optics.

He kissed him lightly; soft, cool lips meshed against his own felt so good after a hard overload from a rather satisfying 'face. "You're welcome," he replied. "Glad you're feeling better."

He unsubspaced Jazz's visor and handed it to him, the saboteur clicking it back on. He let out a surprised moan as Prowl pulled out his spike, excess transfluid dripping off as well as from his valve. He stood up off the berth, Jazz moving over so he could lay down next to him.

"I do feel a little better..." Jazz teased. Prowl kissed his cheek plate as he offlined his optics, wrapping an arm around him.

"Good, Jazz. I'm proud of you."

Jazz rolled his optics before offlining his own optics. "Goodnight, Prowler," he whispered.

"Goodnight, Jazzy."

* * *

The two only got about two cycles of recharge that night.

Sitting up until 2 in the morning in the rec room and interfacing the slag out of each other for almost two and a half cycles... Apparently they discovered they weren't done with the one interface when they got back to their quarters...

When Jazz onlined, he immediately felt his valve ache horribly... he tried to remember what happened last night, but all he could remember was crying in the rec room, followed by Prowl's huge spike thrusting frantically hard in his port, overloading them both multiple times.

Prowl onlined next to him, moaning. "Primus..." he let out. "Ugghhh... my... fraggin' spike..."

"Sweet Cybertron, Prowler... what happened last night?"

"I don't remember..." he muttered. "All I know is my spike and valve are... rather sore..."

Jazz chuckled and rolled over to face his lover. "Mine too..." he breathed, observing his sore servos and the handcuff marks.

Prowl laughed out loud, pressing digits to his optics. He felt his neck throb, his digits making their way down the cables and feeling the dents. "Primus, Jazz... what did you do to me?" he asked teasingly.

Jazz smothered Prowl in a messy kiss before he jumped off the berth. "What did _you_ do to _me?_" he replied, showing Prowl his wrists. The tactician smiled again, standing up and taking Jazz's servos in his, kissing them.

"Sorry," he whispered, kissing Jazz on the lips very lightly. "Oh... I remember, though... I vaguely remember you grabbing onto my neck..." He brought Jazz's servos up to his neck, the digits clamping on as a perfect fit. Jazz chuckled as his optics fluttered over to floor, gasping and making Prowl turn to gaze at what he was staring at.

There in the floor sat a large puddle of transfluid... multiple puddles. Prowl noticed the front support column on their berth was cracked... Great Primus, he thought. Jazz giggled maniacally as he saw the dildo in one of the puddles; just the thought of Prowl's beautiful servos working that toy inside him made his legs weak.

Prowl walked over to the 'fluid-covered dildo and picked it up, his valve clenching on itself at just the feel. He prowled slyly back over to Jazz, his glossa barely tracing the fine transfluid off the tip. "Mmmm... tastes like you when I eat you out..." he murmured, ever so slightly rubbing it against Jazz's lips. He clicked open Jazz's panel with his free servo, bringing the dildo down and playing with his valve entrance.

Jazz whimpered as Prowl pushed him backwards, eventually hitting the wall. Prowl leaned in to nip at his neck while pressing him into the wall, pushing the toy up further into that clenching valve still dripping with transfluid.

He let out a shallow yelp as Prowl hit the back sensor node, rubbing the dildo in a deep circle formation. "Oohhh... P...Prowl..." he rasped, clutching onto Prowl's shoulders as he rode the climaxing pleasure.

The tactician thrust the toy faster, harder as his lover begged him. "Ah... please," he begged, panting. "I'm almost there..."

He thrust the dildo as deep as it would go, ridiculously fast, then slowed down to hear his lover whimper desperately. Jazz bucked as Prowl continued his torture, so close to overload he started to growl at his bondmate. He was just about to topple over the edge _hard_ when Prowl slowed down agonizingly, Jazz's sensors adjusting to the climax and not letting him overload.

"AGHHH... I_ hate_ you!" he shouted at the SIC, Prowl merely laughing. He upped the pace drastically, Jazz whimpering mercilessly and grunting with every thrust, muttering nonsense. Prowl panted just for the kink of it, watching Jazz's faceplate scrunch up as he gasped, bucking harshly as he finally overloaded.

He shrieked, gasping Prowl's name as he bucked uncontrollably and felt his valve clenching so tight around that hot toy. Prowl didn't stop thrusting as hard as he could, nearly overloading himself at the sight of Jazz so helpless and writhing in the throes of bliss. The saboteur hit a second overload like a brick wall, tears nearly swelling up his optics as he screamed.

The overloads finally subsided; he continued panting as Prowl pulled out the dildo, slumping into the tactician just as he caught him. "Slaggin... Primus, Prowler..." he cycled.

He giggled as he threw the dildo over on the floor behind him. He pressed his lips against Jazz's, pulling away and diving in for more, kissing him so kinkily and passionately. His glossa flickered over Jazz's lips and inside over his denta, Jazz returning the passion.

"I love you..." Jazz rasped as Prowl pulled away for a microsecond, then dove back in, grasping his hip plating.

* * *

Ratchet had ordered Hound and Mirage the day off, simply for one reason.

There was no way they were going to produce another 30 containers in two nights... they needed the whole joor. The medic gave Hound an extra jar of artificial lube, along with a soother in case of aching valves.

It was now 0900, and they'd already overloaded four times. No need for soother or lube yet, Mirage thought, looking over at the jars on the side table next to the three containers of trans-energon; Hound found the first one too beautiful and swallowed the transfluid himself after he sucked him off...

"Great Primus," he remembered Hound say. "It's... so much better than normal 'fluid..." he would rasp.

But now they took a break, even though it'd only been two cycles; mainly because Mirage was starving, constantly, and Hound wanted some fresh air. Hound went out for a drive with Trailbreaker while Mirage drank energon in the rec room.

And he just so happened to be talking to Jazz.

"I don't know," Mirage said in reply to Jazz's question. "I mean, I've had it my whole lifestream, and I'm just fine..."

"I know... but you're not a femme."

Mirage looked down to his energon. "I know," he said quietly. "I'm honestly not that worried, though - "

Jazz widened his optics in shock. He was speechless for a moment, jaw agape towards the noble. Mirage looked up, his neutral smile dropping to a puzzled look. "What?" he asked.

"You're... not worried?"

"Not really," he shook his helm. "Ratchet's antidotes are specially designed to help with the cycling condition for the sparkling."

Jazz sighed and closed his mouth. Mirage looked him over; at this point he was _dying_ to know why Jazz had been so upset lately... and why he still was.

"What's wrong, Jazz?" he finally asked. "Why have you been so upset lately?"

Jazz focused on his friend from staring off in the distance, processing the question. "What?"

"You've been acting really... depressed lately... it's been worrying me. What's wrong?"

"Oh..." he said slowly after a while. "Umm... nothing's wrong, 'Raj..."

"Mmhm," he said coolly. "You're not fooling anyone, Jazz. You look like you haven't recharged in joors... and whenever I see you you look like you're ready to cry."

Jazz looked at Mirage for the longest time. He let out a deep sigh through quivering lips, servos clutching the table. "Primus..." he eventually spoke, hating how having to explain everything made his spark hurt terribly.

"Um... well... I guess it all started before you were an Autobot, actually..." he replied softly. "I guess... your sparkling just, reminded me of... my own."

Mirage listened intently to Jazz's words. He leaned forward a bit, asking the question he couldn't hold in any longer. "What happened to your sparklings, Jazz?"

Jazz held his helm up with a servo as he cycled air deeply again.

"Did... Megatron..."

Jazz shook his helm. "No," he said quietly. "No... they weren't murdered, thank Primus.."

Mirage leaned back slightly to his original position, sighing softly with small relief as Jazz continued. "Prowl keeps blaming himself..."

"Prowl? Why?"

"He, um, didn't transmit enough data when we sparkmerged... They had just enough to create the two split-sparks and to form right while I was carrying, but when they were born..." Jazz started to choke on his words, digits rubbing his helm.

"...When they were born, two joors after, half of the split-spark failed due to lack of data..." he finished, vocals quivering. "They... didn't make it."

Mirage looked at Jazz in silence. His spark almost felt the same weight and sorrow as Jazz's did... he couldn't even imagine losing a sparkling like that... at all, for that matter. "Jazz..." he whispered after a long moment, vocals trying to form words but nothing happening. "I'm so sorry..."

Jazz said nothing. He held his helm, trying to remember as much as he could about his two little mechs, yet at the same time try to forget about them and not make himself upset.

"So that's why you've been upset?" Mirage asked. "Because you think my sparkling is in danger?"

"I don't know..." he responded. "I honestly don't know why I'm upset... Prowl thinks I'm... jealous." He cracked a small smile. "I am in a way."

Mirage sighed. He tried to say something after a moment, but Jazz cut him off. "I just didn't want you two to be hurt..."

"Jazz... you don't have to worry about us. I'm not having split-sparks, and she's going to be okay. Understand?"

Jazz paused for a long time, staring at the wall behind the noble. "27 years, Mirage..." he stated in a whisper after a good three kliks. "27 years of mental therapy... that's how long it took to get my mind back to its right state. And I'm still not 100% myself."

"27 years..." Mirage repeated quietly. He honestly didn't know what to say. Where to begin. How to understand Jazz's pain... his terrible loss for two tiny, frail _parts of him_, whom he loved possibly even more than Prowl. He could barely even think about it.

The saboteur chuckled a little, making Mirage look up at him again. "You know... it's funny..." he started. "I remember 'em like they were here just this morning... me holding them, one in each arm... them giggling like the cuties they were..."

Jazz had a big grin on his face, something the noble hadn't realized he hadn't seen in so long. He noticed he was staring off into space again, like he was seeing them right there in front of him. Mirage found himself smiling too, imagining two tiny sparklings laughing that cute, little laugh they always had. He started to imagine playing with his own little femme, loving her like there was no tomorrow, listening to her laugh and nothing else.

"What were their names?" Mirage asked.

"Site was born first," Jazz said happily. "We called him that 'cause of his big, wide optics, shining this bright crystal-blue all the time. Ratchet said his vision was beyond perfect... we though 'Site' would be a good name. His brother Spinner was the one who's spark failed, though."

Mirage listened respectively to the TIC's words, noticing how that longed smile dropped again at the thought of them dying.

"We named him 'Spinner' because he'd always twirl his little digit like this..." he explained, mocking the action with his own digit, swirling it around it the air. "On the joor he died..." Mirage noted tears started to develop in Jazz's optics. "...Prowl and I held each of their... tiny, little servos as Ratchet helped them pass away peacefully..." By this point Jazz was cycling deep gasps desperately, lips quivering with a tear breaking loose down his cheek plate. "He still managed to twirl those digits around..." he chuckled hoarsely.

Mirage felt his own hot tears fill his optics, smiling reassuringly. "Oh, Jazz..." he let out, taking his servo. "Don't cry... they're in a better place now. They're out of their misery."

"I know, I know... Believe me, I'm trying my best not to look like an idiot in front o' ya..." he laughed. Mirage laughed with him, comforting him.

"You don't look like an idiot, Jazz. Any mech would do the same thing."

Jazz inhaled unstably, exhaling deeply. "Oh... jeez. Thank you, Mirage."

Mirage smiled as he let go of his servo."You're going to make a great creator."

The noble chuckled at his words. "Thank you."

Mirage sipped at his energon, watching Jazz fix his optics back on the table. He set his energon down but said nothing for the time being, gently placing his servo on his abdomen and feeling the sparkling kick again.

"So... are you off duty for the rest of your carrying?" Jazz asked slowly after a brief silence.

"Well, Ratchet mainly wants us to make more trans-energon... but I plan on working until I physically can't."

Jazz started laughing to himself with his arms crossed. "What?" Mirage asked

"Nothin'," he said, waving it off. "I'm just thinking about when Prowl and I made that stuff; It was... quite interesting. And kinky."

Mirage cracked a sly smile back, sipping more of his energon. "Hound's not the worst partner, either," he replied.

This made Jazz laugh more, Mirage joining him. "Good mech," he responded playfully.

All of a sudden Cliffjumper ran over, along with Huffer, Gears, the twins, and Warpath. They started shouting at him, asking him questions of all kinds, most of them non-understandable.

"Wait..." he started unsuccessfully. "Hold on... what?"

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" was the only question he was able to make out. He thought the voice belonged to Sideswipe, so he looked to him.

"Well... I don't know... um, Hound actually wanted it to be a surprise, I guess."

Several 'oh's and 'ah's left the crowd of mechs. Cliffjumper let out a rather long "awww", making the noble blush slightly.

"Alright, alright," he heard at last, and caught a glimpse of a black and white mech making his way towards them all, pushing aside the crowd to get them to leave. "I think we should leave Mirage alone, don't you?"

More disappointed noises left everyone's vocals as Prowl turned them to leave, softly shoving them. Once they eventually left, Jazz scooted over in the booth as Prowl sat down next to him, wrapping an arm around him and kissing his cheek plate.

"Hi, Prowler," Jazz smiled.

"Hi, baby," he replied quietly and coolly. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine..." he answered, whispering.

The three sat in silence for a while, until Mirage's pager beeped. "I gotta go," he said after Hound told him he was back from driving. He stood up slowly as Jazz and Prowl said their goodbyes, disposing his energon and walking out the doors.

Prowl turned to look at Jazz. "You sure you're alright?" he murmured, nipping his neck. Jazz nodded, twiddling his thumbs.

"I said I'm fine."

The tactician continued looking at him, observing his tired faceplate. He slowly reached a servo around to grasp the other side of his lover's faceplate, turning his helm and planting a passionate kiss on his lips.

They stayed there for a long time. Jazz loved the feeling of Prowl's soft lips against his; he offlined his optics to enjoy it more, relaxing greatly under the presence of his bondmate, not caring about all the other mechs maybe looking their way in the rec room.

Prowl tilted his helm just before he pulled away. Jazz kept his optics offline, facing Prowl as the tactician kissed his helm so softly it made Jazz almost shiver.

They said nothing. Prowl remained in the booth with his arm around Jazz, stroking his frame soothingly, the saboteur's helm resting snuggled up in Prowl's neck. Prowl continued kissing his helm every so often; this was probably Jazz's most favorite thing - Prowl showing him so much love... and much more than just interfacing. This was what he needed more than anything, they both knew.


	9. First Timer, Second Doubts

** Basis:** G1

**Pairing: **HoundxMirage, RatchetxIronhide, (smallish ProwlxJazz)

Possibly last chapter of H&M fluffy goodness... lol ;P

R&I SCENE = HAPPINESS (for me anyway, dun know 'bout y'all...)

Again, he calls him "baby"... when I say it over it my mind it sounds so cute:) So deal with it. ^.^

(There is a little tidbit of birthing; If you guys can read slash then I doubt you'll have a problem with graphic birth, but just in case, a fair warning to all (mainly in next chapter, and another one down the road).)

eNjOy.

* * *

Hound had Mirage panting fiercely once again as he writhed underneath him.

Since this was their last joor of interfacing for trans-energon, they had to make the most of it.

"Hound..." Mirage moaned under his breath. The sparkling was making him equivalent to a human being 7.5 months along, and Hound's thick spike up his hollow-feeling valve felt so weird yet so amazing; he didn't think he'd ever get his fill again.

"Almost there, 'Raj," Hound panted above him, grasping his hips and hilting him up so he thrust deeper. Mirage grabbed the sides of the berth and continued bucking, riding the hardened spike as he neared what seemed like his 100th overload for the joor.

"Ohhh..." the scout groaned, feeling his painfully-erect spike hitting the back of that clenching valve repeatedly, gasping out Mirage's name. He couldn't stop; he almost felt bad that he had Mirage whining in pain, begging to take him harder even though he felt like his valve was about to tear.

"Hound... unnghh... please... you-you're..."

Hound cried out as he overloaded, his climax peaking like a blow to the helm. He thrusted uncontrollably, causing Mirage to scream out in both pain in pleasure. The beautiful pregnant noble writhing underneath him, whimpering out as overload approached turned him on something fierce, watching what his optics would let him of his lover in the throes of bliss.

Before long he eventually had the noble overloading, _hard_; his servos shot up to grasp Hound's upper arms with a strong grip, bucking wildly and screaming his name as he overloaded a second time.

Hound managed to settle down in his own overloading state to place the second-to-last container around Mirage's spike, the trans-energon erupting hotly into it. Hound whimpered to himself as he watched, that light purple transfluid that tasted so good shooting up into the tiny glass jar.

Several shrieks left the noble before he subsides, relaxing and thumping his helm against the berth as he panted roughly.

"Four... hot... overloads... in a row..." he rasped eventually, slowly offlining his optics as Hound pulled his spike out.

"There were much more than that, love," Hound replied as he set the container next to the others.

"I know... These four are the only ones I remember being the most amazing..."

Hound chuckled softly as he kissed his neck. "One last container... then we're done."

Mirage smiled at the thought of finally relaxing and not having to overload all the time, even though they had been rather kinky and he'd be more than willing to do it again. They had experimented with many different schemes, testing different positions that nearly made them overload by just the idea. One consisted of Mirage handcuffed to the berth support column with his legs on the berth, hanging practically upside-down as Hound knelt on the berth and fragged him. Others of the noble's favorite included the toys, such as when Hound worked him in his recharge state with a dildo.

Even in their private wash racks, Hound surprised him by keeping his servo over his mouth and practically raping him from behind.

"Let's do that one position we did when we first met," Mirage whispered sexily with a smirk.

Hound looked at him as he remembered which one he was talking about, then smiling just as big when the image popped into his CPU.

"Alright," he said slyly, helping Mirage on his knees and sliding around so he lined up with his aft. It really was pretty basic; when they first met on a mission in the Helix Gardens back on Praxus shortly before it was destroyed by the Decepticons, they got a little too energized on Sideswipe's highgrade and spent the night doing nothing but interfacing.

Quite roughly, too, as they both remembered. Mirage especially remembered his two favorite positions: where he sat on Hound's lap as the scout took him from behind, and the simple on-all-fours routine.

Mirage offlined his optics as he felt Hound's servos dance lightly over his backstrut. The scout's spike was still pretty firm as he aligned it with his lover's valve, already dripping and dying for attention.

Mirage huffed in relief as he felt Hound's spike penetrate him once again, languidly thrusting in and out as he replayed the images of their first night together.

Who would've thought, he thought to himself, that that one night of highgrade would lead to eons of bondage. The two actually had only "dated" for a few vorns; they bonded shortly after. Now they were expecting... they were going to be creators... the thought made Hound smile and his spark jump, thinking over what would have happened if they hadn't taken a few drinks of Side's highgrade... They probably wouldn't have interfaced, that's for sure. And if they hadn't have interfaced that night, Hound probably wouldn't have asked him out the joor after. And if they hadn't gone out to that classic energon bar back in Vos, they surely wouldn't have _continued_ to go out, let alone bond a few vorns afterwards.

And then they definitely would not be expecting a sparkling right now.

So, the more he thought about it, the more he realized he owed it all to Sideswipe. This of course made him try to _stop_ thinking about it.

His thoughts were thankfully interrupted by Mirage's single gasp, his optics, fluttering down to that beautiful noble rocking underneath him. He slowly reached a servo down to play with Mirage's stiffened spike, earning another gasp from those gorgeous lips.

"You know..." he started quietly, Mirage keeping his optics offline as he listened to his voice. "I'm proud of you."

"Why?" Mirage gasped, digits curling on the surface of the berth as he felt his spike being stroked.

"Because... You acted very well when Optimus announced you were the carrier. I thought you'd be more paranoid."

Mirage laughed softly to himself. "So did I... Thank you."

"You also... *huff* are loosening up a bit around the others... like you're getting used to the whole 'lump' thing," he chuckled.

"Oh... oh... yes..."

Hound wasn't sure if the noble was agreeing with him or if his overload was coming... by the movements and noises he was making, he assumed it was both. Mirage was actually moving quite gracefully under the Jeep, rocking gently back and forth on all fours as Hound picked up the pace a little.

His optics remained offline; Oh, he was so close... just a little harder...

As if Hound read his mind, his pace increased as he clutched his hip plating. He offlined his own optics, grunting ever so softly with every thrust, pushing through that tightly-clenching valve, stimulating his own spike.

Mirage focused on nothing but the large spike filling his valve, feeling the transfluid help him along and hearing the slight suction noises. He spread his legs a little further, gasping as Hound slid his spike in deeper.

_*So close... so... close...*_ he thought. "C'mon... Hound..."

Mirage gritted his teeth as he quietly overloaded, making a single cry as he bucked towards the berth below him. Hound pulled on his spike, milking the energon out as best he could into the container before he overloaded himself.

He set the jar on the berth as gasped out Mirage's name, finally letting himself overload. Mirage moaned aloud as hot transfluid shot up his valve, filling him all the way, feeling Hound's panel hit his as he bucked silently.

Oh it was so peaceful... he never wanted it to stop. He wanted to keep this one overload going all joor, to keep transfluid shooting up his beyond-perfect, tight, hot, wet, clenching valve... he couldn't get the thought out of his helm.

They silently panted as their overloads subsided. Hound pulled out very slowly, retracting his spike and closing both their panels. He grabbed the container and set it next to the others on the side table, then helped Mirage up on his pedes.

"Are you alright?" he asked, smiling.

Mirage nodded. He pressed his lips together as he sat down on the edge of the berth, holding his abdomen. "'Raj," Hound said as he sat down next to him and held him, trying to get him to look at him. "Are you okay?"

He nodded again, releasing his lips and onlining his optics. "Yes, fine... just... I don't think she liked that position," he laughed.

Hound chuckled nervously. "Well tell her I'm sorry..." he teased.

The noble smiled as he gently rubbed his servo over the large lump soothingly, finally getting the sparkling to stop kicking. "I think she's okay."

Hound kissed his cheek plate and stood up. "I'll be right back," he said, walking out the doors to get the pitcher.

* * *

Hound opened the cooler and took out the pitcher, letting it close as he walked away.

"Hound," he heard, and turned around to see Ratchet walking his way.

"Hello, Ratchet," he replied.

"How is Mirage doing?" he asked as if the question was a matter of life or death.

"Fine. Never better."

Ratchet gave him a long look as he held his chin. "No problems with the sparkling? Cycling is okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, he cycling's great, no attacks in a while actually. I think the antidote worked," he answered cheerfully.

"Fantastic," he smiled back. "Well sorry to keep you, I just needed to make sure he was alright; Prime wants me to check up on him every joor and I haven't seen him today."

"Wonder why," he teased, Ratchet rolling his optics in reply as he knew the answer.

"I know, I know," he murmured, walking off with a smile.

Hound left the rec room smiling as well, walking swiftly back to their quarters with the pitcher. He was fairly happy; Ratchet seemed so much more relaxed lately. Maybe it was because the medic felt better that the whole base knew and would defend the little femme, or simply because he loved sparklings, which everyone knew. As grumpy as the CMO was, Ratchet was probably more equipped with sparklings. No one knew exactly why... they figured it was because he dealt the most with them, delivering them and giving them checkups and all. Ratchet had always had a liking for the little mechs, and the occasional femmes of course... he'd always wanted one of his own. But no mech would ever know that, except Ironhide.

Hound was glad that the medic had loosened up finally. He knew how the mech felt towards them; he cared so much for them that he didn't want them to get hurt in this environment. Even though he seemed like the grumpiest mech among the Autobots, he really was one of the most caring and considerate.

* * *

**Day 7**

Ratchet walked into his quarters, wiping his forehelm.

He nearly jumped out of his frame when he saw a pair of bright blue optics glowing at him in the darkness.

"Slag it! Ironhide! What is the matter with you?"

"I'm sorry," he giggled, walking towards his bondmate. "I didn't mean to scare you..."

"Well you did!" he snapped back.

"Calm down, Ratch, I said I was sorry."

The medic let out a deep sigh as he walked into the wash room. "I'm sorry, 'Hide..." he said as he placed a damp wash cloth to his forehelm. "I'm just... jumpy... and tired."

"I know," he chuckled. "You made me recharge by myself... no one to snuggle with."

Ratchet smirked as Ironhide wrapped his arms around the medic's waist and nipped his neck. "Where have you been?" he whispered.

"Setting up the med bay in case Mirage goes into labor early... newbies always have that chance."

"Hmmm..." was all he replied as he kept his faceplate in Ratchet's neck. "I hope that doesn't happen to you..."

Ratchet didn't say anything. Ironhide pulled away and looked at him through the mirror, noting his nervous-seeming facial expression. "It's not going to happen, 'Hide..." he sighed.

"How do you know that?"

"Because I'm not going into labor at all. Ever." He slid out of Ironhide's hold as he threw the cloth in the sink and walked back to their berth, leaving the warrior in the wash room, watching him.

"What do ya mean?" he asked as he flipped off the light and made his way towards Ratchet.

"I'm not going to have a sparkling..."

"Well why not? You've only been wanting one for the past few millennia..."

"I know, 'Hide," he said depressingly as he laid down on the berth. "But..."

Ironhide laid down next to Ratchet as he thought. "...I don't know," was all he said, and turned to face away from his lover.

Ironhide simply wrapped an arm around him again and held him. "We don't have to talk about it now," he whispered, stroking his helm with his thumb. "Don't worry about it."

Ratchet turned back around to face the warrior. "Of course I'm going to worry about it... "

"Why?"

"Because..."

"Because why."

He sighed. Ironhide merely giggled, earning a playful slap on the cheek plate. "It's not funny," he laughed.

"I know it's not... I'm sorry. Please continue."

Ratchet just rolled his optics, the smile not leaving his faceplate. "I'm just worried about the others... You know how depressed Jazz has been lately."

He nodded.

"And I know Blaster and Tracks tried a while back... what if they tried again?"

"So?"

"_So..._ Hound could be right. This one sparkling could start a whole new generation of Autobots."

"What's wrong with that? Then we'll still have an army to fight those Decepti-scums - "

"_Exactly,_ 'Hide. A new generation will just lead to more deaths. More Autobots to care for."

Ironhide sighed. "I see where you're goin' with this."

Ratchet looked pleadingly into Ironhide's bright optics, hoping his words would help him feel better.

"Ratchet," he started, sliding up a little to hold the medic closer to him. "Baby, you're gettin' this all wrong... A new generation - sure, it'll mean more deaths, but our generations _now_ are dying. That's _why_ we need this new one. Do you understand?"

Ratchet lightly nodded, so relaxed in Ironhide's warm embrace.

"I know they're in danger, Ratch, everyone does... but that doesn't stop 'em from having what they want and love. And that shouldn't stop you either."

"I know..." he whispered. "I know, I'm sorry... I guess I'm just being selfish. I worry too much."

"No you don't," he said, kissing his helm. "You're just doing your job. That's what medics do."

Ratchet chuckled as he kissed Ironhide's nasal ridge. "Thanks," he said softly.

"So are ya gonna give a sparkling a second thought?"

"I might," he answered to the wall. "My main concern is Jazz, though... I mean, what if Blaster has a sparkling too? He'll feel intimidated... maybe even pressured into having another sparkling. I mean Prowl's not that type, but you never know... and the pressure and fear could contribute to the sparkling, thus failing its spark again."

"You know it was only because Prowl didn't transmit enough data, and they were split-sparks. Prowl would never pressure Jazz like that, let alone on something that would possibly offline him. Permanently."

"I know that, Ironhide. I'm just throwing out possibilities."

The two laid there in the silent darkness for a good while. Ironhide kept his servo stroking Ratchet's cheek plate, smiling into his optics as he comforted him. "What if Jazz wants to try again? Before Blaster?" he whispered.

"I doubt that will happen."

"Just throwin' out possibilities," he said, Ratchet giving him another smile.

* * *

By the 7th joor Mirage was at the point of holding his backstrut whenever he stood up.

Hound thought it was amusing. He loved helping his excepting bondmate; he was so excited, knowing _just one more joor_ and they would be creators.

Mirage, on the other hand, was not necessarily thrilled by the sharp pain in his back whenever he walked, or the thought of giving birth to this thing. He'd put the though aside for the past couple joors, but now _everyone_ kept reminding him, "Just one more joor, Mirage!" or "Aren't you excited, 'Raj? One more joor!".

Yes. One more joor. Then he would be screaming in pain and gripping the med bay berth for his life as the sparkling made her way into this cruel world.

He couldn't wait.

There was also some literal sense to that, though; he tried to think about how beautiful his little femme would be. He couldn't wait until the birthing process was over, and then he could play with her, feed, her, care for her when she got hurt, protect her from the outside world. The first sparkling on board the Ark, on Earth, and she was a femme. And she was _his_. The thought was overwhelming.

"Mirage!" he heard some mech call. He turned to see Sunstreaker right in his faceplate, grinning at him. "Aren't you excited!"

"Oh, yes, very," he said, smiling, half lying.

"Can I hold him when he's born?" Cliffjumper shouted.

"HER!" almost everyone corrected him.

"Sorry, _her_."

Just then a mech came to his rescue. Hound pulled him back away from the growing crowd, reminding them they shifts to report to and duties to fulfill.

"_Primus,_ thanks," he said.

"No problem," he answered, kissing his helm since he hadn't seen him all joor yet.

"I swear, if one more mech asks me if I'm excited, I'm gonna slap 'em so hard my energon will break."

Hound laughed as he handed him a cube of energon. "You don't want it to break too early... she might have a defect."

Mirage huffed as he sipped at the energon. "As long as she's out and alive, I don't care."

"That's just the new antidote talking," he teased as he wiped the excess energon off Mirage's chin. The noble gulped down the rest and handed him the empty cube, it being the 12th cube he'd drained just today. "You're gonna laugh when you compare how many cubed you've drink these eight joors to how many you normally drink. I think you've taken in more this week than you have all month."

Mirage giggled. "It's not my fault," he protested.

"I know." They walked back over to a booth and sat down.

"You barely recharged at all last night, Hound," Mirage spoke after a while. "What's up with all these datapads?"

"I have no idea... it seems like Prime's been giving me more lately. Like, three times as many a night."

"Well you can't be up all night reporting datapads when the sparkling's here. You'll already be losing time as it is."

"I know, I'm gonna talk to Optimus later. I promise."

Mirage looked at him and smiled. "Alright..." he said slowly.

"What?" he questioned the noble with his look.

"Nothin', just gettin' a good look at ya."

"Why's that?" he smiled back.

"I'm just... getting a mental image of you. I mean... what if we change? This sparkling's going to change our life, Hound - no more 'just us'. We'll be a _family,_" he grinned.

"A family," he repeated very softly, realizing Mirage was right. "I never thought about that..."

"Me neither, until now," he replied quietly. "It's really something..."

"Yeah," he said with a big smile, optics fixed on his bondmate. "I'm excited."

Mirage smirked. "I am too... I can't wait for tomorrow, yet at the same time I'm dreading it."

"You could always go into labor today..." he teased.

"Yeah. Right. That'd be so much better."

Hound smiled just before his pager beeped. "Slag, I gotta run, I'll be back later," he exclaimed as he stood up and kiss Mirage's helm. "Comm. me if _anything_ happens, alright?"

"Alright. See ya later."

And with that he was left alone at the booth, vulnerable for anyone to rush over to him and ask him another bazillion questions. He quickly decided to hunt down Jazz; that would keep him busy and away from the others - that, and he wanted advice on giving birth.

He hoped the topic wouldn't be too awkward for the saboteur... nah, he thought. Not_ Jazz_. He just hoped he was off shift for the time being as he made his way out the rec room doors, holding his backstrut as he watched to make sure no one was following him.

* * *

_*Put it down.*_

_*No.*_

_*Put it down...*_

Jazz sighed as he fought with himself. He wanted nothing but to put the picture down... to throw it away. Get rid of it and its painful memories. But his other half said keep it. Keep the memories. Don't let them go... you may never have a chance to restore them.

But he didn't want to keep them. He didn't want to restore them. He wanted them back... that's all he wanted. Nothing else. Just his sparklings.

He sat there, staring at the picture Ratchet took eons ago when his sparklings were born, for another five solid kliks. The picture he'd secretly kept hidden in his desk after Prowl told him to throw it away for his own good. Oh, how he wanted to so badly... but he couldn't. He kept his optics glued to the photo, never before seeing himself so happy, holding little Spinner in his arms as Prowl sat next to him, holding Site. He wasn't even looking at the camera; neither of them were. Jazz was too lost in that one small priceless moment to look at anything but those big, blue optics, shining up at him, smiling at him.

_"Hi..."_ he remembered saying so weakly as he held Site for the very first time. He was so tired, in such pain that joor... all that pushing, he remembered too clearly. Prowl, Ratchet, Wheeljack, everyone yelling at him to push... _"Keep pushing!"_ they shouted at him. _"You're doing great!" "I can see the helm..." "Here he comes..."_

He remembered everything. Every little detail that no one else on Cybertron knew except him. Not even Prowl. He remembered both pairs of bright optics on him... all the love he immediately felt towards his two little twins. How he felt to be a creator, _finally_... then to have it all snatched away in the blink of an optic.

His face was expressionless. He didn't even know what he was feeling... so many different thoughts...

Was it really 27 years of mental therapy that saved him from offlining himself permanently? That restored the depressed-Jazz back into normal-Jazz? He didn't even know. He knew this was all beyond unhealthy... but he couldn't find it in himself to care.

_*Quit being so selfish...* _he demanded himself.

_*It's that damn sparkling doing this to you.*_

_*NO!*_

He sat upright at the desk, glaring at the wall in his quarters. He wasn't going to stoop that low... to let Mirage's sparkling take control of him like that.

A knock at the door had him ready to pounce.

"Uhmm... c-come in," he choked.

The doors swooshed open just as Jazz slammed the desk drawer shut with the picture inside.

"Hi Jazz," Mirage spoke softly. Jazz cleared his vocals nervously, barely even making optic contact with the noble.

"Hey, 'Raj."

"Um, are you busy? Or do you have a moment?"

"No, nah, I'm free, just, um, goin' over some stuff. What do ya need?"

"Well, I have a while until my shift starts - "

"Your _shift?_"

"Yeah, we talked about that..."

Jazz paused. They talked about that? Talked about what? Great, now he was losing it... "Oh, um, yeah, right, of course... sorry."

Mirage chuckled as he continued. "I just need to escape the crowd before my... shift starts. I thought I'd come talk to you."

"Oh," he said, chuckling. "Oh, sure, 'course, 'Raj." This surprised him; it actually made him feel... _better_... Why? He had no idea. But he'd learned to just accept things, not understand them.

"What did you want to talk about?" he continued.

"Um... well... you know, tomorrow's the 'big day', as everyone's saying," he answered, Jazz laughing softly. "I just wondered if you had any advice."

"Advice?"

_*Advice? He wants advice? On what? How to fail in life? How to kill your own sparkling? Sure, I'll give him advice...*_

_*STOP IT!*_

Jazz chuckled nervously again, feeling the sweat starting to just pour down his faceplate and not stop. "Um... advice... on what?"

"I don't know, I guess I'm just extremely nervous for tomorrow..."

"Oohhh. I get it. _Havin'_ the sparkling," Jazz said after a moment. The two looked at each other for the longest time, desperate to escape the awkward silence.

Finally Jazz continued speaking. "Alright. I'm gonna be honest with you... it's not fun."

"I know... I've only witnessed one birth in my lifestream, and it didn't sound too fun."

Jazz smirked a little as he held him helm up with a servo. "It's not... A fair warning to ya. But... the thing is, 'Raj, you're not as complicated as I was."

"What do you mean?"

"You're a noble. You were born genetically engineered. I was born in the pits, where my creators were smaller than average due to slavery. I'm lucky I'm this size, and not smaller."

"You're not that small, Jazz. You look perfectly average."

"Ah, but not every part is, 'Raj. When I was givin' birth, 'Jack had this... nitrous stuff on me the whole time. Ratchet admitted it was one of the worst births he'd ever seen, simply because my valve was so small."

"Oh, Primus... Jazz, I had no idea."

"Well it's alright, I mean, makes a great kink in the berth," he admitted coolly with a flicker of the side of his visor, Mirage knowing the action as a wink. The noble just smirked.

"Well what about minibots?"

"That don't matter," he said. "I'm not a minibot. That's a different story."

Mirage agreed and let the saboteur finish his story.

"Anyway, it was so long ago... I've grown a little since then. If I were to have another, it wouldn't be as bad," he stated. "But Ratchet thinks that's also one of the reasons why their spark failed; it was just a rough birth."

Mirage sighed as he looked him over. He knew what Jazz meant; he was also to blame. "Don't blame yourself, Jazz, please, you can't help that it was a rough birth."

"I know, I'm fine."

Mirage knew he was lying. Regardless, Jazz went on.

"Most mechs don't remember the pain, though," he said quietly and slowly, whispering as if he remembered them dying again. "At all."

Mirage listened with intent, hoping this 'advice' would help him.

"Not me," he said. "It's like curse."

The noble found his mouth slightly agape, and shut it.

"Absurd..." Jazz muttered. "It haunts me... the therapy helped, but, Primus, I'll never forget those memories, Mirage. All that pain..."

Jazz wished that he wasn't sitting here, telling Mirage all of this. That is was all a dream. But no, of course not. It can't be. That's _absurd..._

"I'm so sorry, Jazz," he said so softly.

"Nah... don't be."

"...W-Will I feel like that?" he asked innocently after a long pause.

"I sure hope not, 'Raj. I'd hate to see someone else go through what I did..." he said tiredly. "It's not worth it," he murmured.

Mirage simply watched Jazz's neutral facial expression drop to sadness once again. He watched him focus on nothingness... stare off in the distance, at the desk.

"You know," he heard the saboteur chuckle after a while. "Some nights... when I'm layin' down in the berth with Prowl's arms around me, I'll be thinking... what if I _did_ have another sparkling? Hm? Just to _make_ it worth it... you know? Like, to add _joy_ to my_ pain_... to all that... _suffering_..."

"...Really?" he asked weakly.

"Yeah... I mean, that's why I hate talking about trying again with Prowl, or if he brings it up. Like, _sure_, I'll have sex with ya Prowler, get pregnant, have another sparkling or two, just so I can abuse them..." Jazz responded with a disgusted tone.

Mirage didn't shut his agape jaw this time. "You-You think that?"

"Yeah," he rasped. "It scares me so much, Mirage, you have no idea... how much it terrifies me... that there's this part of me that wants to kill me. Wants me to suffer, and make others suffer. That half of me _wants_ to have another sparkling simply so my pain can go away... that's how messed up I am."

"You're not messed up, Jazz," Mirage soothed. "You're just upset."

"Upset, yeah. For eon after eon. After eon."

"Oh, Jazz," he started. "You are. That's all you are. Upset over loss. You are so much more stronger than that, you know that. You know you can get past this self-doubting and move on. If others didn't think that you could, then they wouldn't love you, like Prowl does. They wouldn't spend 27 years of mental therapy on you, like Ratchet did. They wouldn't be telling you you're stronger than that, like I am."

Jazz looked up into Mirage's optics processing what he was saying. "You're serious..." he said after silence. Mirage didn't know if it was a question or a statement, but he nodded him helm with confidence.

"Of course I am. You're one of my best friends, Jazz; I care about you."

Jazz actually smiled sincerely. Besides from time with Prowl, he hadn't felt this good ever since he found out Mirage was carrying.

"I want you to try again," Mirage finished with a whisper.

"What?"

"I want you to have another sparkling. With Prowl."

Jazz scoffed, only to have the noble say it again. "I want you to, Jazz. I want you to trust me."

"I do trust you," he said eventually.

"Good. Now prove it."

Jazz left his jaw slightly agape as Mirage stood up. He soon stood up as he regained consciousness, helping Mirage to the door. "Um, thank you, 'Raj. For... helping me feel better," he softly chuckled as they stood by the door.

"Thank yourself, Jazz," he replied. "Trust yourself." Jazz let another smile cross his faceplate at the words. He struggled with every circuit in his body to hold back the tears as Mirage wrapped his arms around him, hugging him so lovingly that Jazz felt like he was Prowl for a moment. He hugged back, offlining his optics and enjoying his friend's comfort.

They stayed there, in that one position for what seemed like forever. Mirage pulled away and wiped the starting tears away from Jazz's optics with his thumb, his own optics nearly tearing up themselves. "Now, don't cry. Stand firm, alright? No more of this self-doubting."

Jazz laughed as he nodded.

"Good mech," he teased, smiling back. Jazz opened the door and Mirage walked out, waving bye one last time in case this was the last time he'd see him before his 'family' arrived.

Jazz closed the doors after he saw Mirage turn the corner. He slowly made his way back to his desk and sat down, taking a moment to think before he pulled out the last drawer.

The picture found its way into Jazz's servo again, the saboteur looking at it as a rather large pressed smile stretched across his faceplate.


	10. The Arrival

**Basis:** G1

**Pairings: **HoundxMirage

Whoa... almost 6500 words, I think that's my longest chapter yet...

Awesome. It was worth it.

Big ending... I like it. :) Again, might be graphic to some, depending on whoever's reading it... Hope ya like!

* * *

"Mirage, are you sure you feel like working?"

"Red, I'm_ fine_. This is one of the _simplest_ jobs on the Ark."

"...Well... okay..."

* * *

"'Raj, put that down, you don't need to be lifting that!"

"Sunny, I'm fine. Quit your worrying."

"Mirage, that much strain could cause you to go into labor..."

Mirage grunted as he tossed the stack of metal sheets over his shoulder. "I need it, Sunstreaker. If you want you can help me."

"Alright, fine."

* * *

"Mirage!"

"What?"

"Don't strain yourself!"

"I'm _fine._"

* * *

"Mirage. Please. You should be on berth rest."

* * *

"Mirage!"

* * *

"'Raj! You shouldn't be working!"

* * *

"Mirage! Put that down."

* * *

"Mirage!"

* * *

"Mirage..."

* * *

"Mirage - "

"_WHAT?_"

Hound stopped dead in the doorway and looked up at the scowling noble with wide optics. "Uhmm... I... just wanted to ask if you got enough metal sheets..."

Mirage exhaled deeply in frustration. "Um, yes, yeah I got more than enough."

Hound set the datapad on top of a roll of metal bars and walked towards him. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing... I just - Ughhhnnn..." Mirage shot both servos to his abdomen, Hound catching him as he nearly collapsed. "Uhnn... " he managed as he caught his breath and got to his pedes again. "Sorry... I'm just... gonna smack the next mech that shouts 'Mirage! Put that down!' or 'Mirage! You shouldn't be working!'. 'You should be on berth rest... stay in med bay.' 'Mirage!' this, 'Mirage!' that... Primus, it's driving me absolutely_ insane!_"

Hound merely laughed as he cautiously let go of Mirage, stroking his forehelm with his thumb. "Mirage, they're just worried. _You_ know this is the first Autobot sparkling in _millennia_..."

Mirage gave him wide optics.

"...That's survived... or, _will_ survive..."

Mirage just smirked as he walked over to Hound's datapad. "Where's Ironhide?" he asked.

"On his way, he had to help Blue with something."

Before Mirage could ask another question, Ironhide stepped through the open door to their quarters. "Evenin' mechs," he greeted cheerily.

"Hey 'Hide."

"Sorry I'm late - "

"Don't worry about it. We have time."

"Fantastic," he exclaimed. "Let's get started."

* * *

After three full cycles of working, the three mechs eventually finished their project.

Well, two mechs mainly, since Mirage was only allowed to do what the other two thought was safe. They would have started the project sooner, but neither had had the time or flexibility to work around their crammed schedules.

Hound somehow found time in the chaos to read one of the many datapads stacked up to the point they'd fall over. So much to do... the sun was setting, and the sparkling could come as soon as - right now, Hound realized. He looked up from his datapad as Mirage walked over to him, smiling.

"When are you gonna talk to Optimus about those?" he asked gently.

Hound smiled back thoughtfully. "I know, 'Raj, I will."

"At least go get some energon... you've been so busy caring for me and making me drink it all that you've been practically starving yourself."

"Fine, 'Raj," he said, patting his cheek like a creator would. "Do you want some?"

"Sure," he said, turning and walking towards their quarter's single back room to take another look at their finished work.

* * *

Hound grabbed a clean cube and aligned it under the nozzle, pulling the trigger.

The quiet rec room allowed him time to think, something he knew would be lost when the sparkling entered their world. He watched the purple liquid pour from the nozzle, drizzling slowly into the translucent cube container.

"Good evening, Hound," he heard in that familiar, deep voice he hadn't heard in a while. He looked up as he switched off the trigger, Optimus' optics fixed on him.

"'Evening, sir."

"How are you and Mirage?" he asked, grabbing his own cube.

"Oh, fantastic, Optimus. we just finished building it; it's sitting in the back room ready for use," he said playfully. "Mirage is fine; he sometimes keens when the sparkling kicks, but he's holding up pretty well," he chuckled.

"Great!" Optimus exclaimed. "That's good. Glad to hear it."

Hound moved over so Optimus could fill his own cube. "Actually, Optimus, I - we, were wondering what's up with all the datapads..."

"Mhmm..."

"...I mean, with the sparkling coming n' all, I, um, I'm not gonna have much time to read all these 'pads," he chuckled nervously. "I was just wondering if you could... maybe _reduce_ the_ quantity._"

"_Reduce _the_ quantity,_" he repeated as he laughed. "I like it, Hound. But yes, of course, I'm sorry, Hound; I was merely assigning you more data pads than usual so that you wouldn't have _any_ for a while when the sparkling's born."

Hound's optics widened as he almost did his best spit-take. He choked as he tried to speak, energon drooling down his chin before he wiped it away. "Oh..." he coughed. "I- I see; Primus, sir, I had no idea. Um, thank you."

"Think nothing of it," he replied, still laughing as he sipped his own energon. "Don't feel rushed to turn them all in before tomorrow night, either. And don't hesitate to ask if you need something, alright?"

"Alright, Optimus. Thank you again."

Optimus waved it off as he exited the rec room. "Have a nice night, Hound."

* * *

Hound returned to their quarters silently as not to startle Mirage. He didn't want anything out of the ordinary to happen to their sparkling, even if that meant not even playing with Mirage.

He slowly approached the noble who still stood in the back room, servo feeling its way down the crib frame.

"We did a nice job," Hound spoke softly as he neared his bondmate.

"Yeah," he said, optics still running down the white metal frame. "I like the color."

Hound chuckled. "Of course you do; you picked it out yourself."

"I'm surprised Sunny actually knew my favorite color," he giggled.

Hound sipped at his energon. "I wonder what the sparkling's favorite color will be..." he said slowly after a moment.

"I have no idea." The noble suddenly started laughing, earning an interesting look from Hound. "We haven't even decided on a name for her."

Hound laughed along with him. "That's right... we've started a few, but we need to think of one."

"Or we could wait until she's born; maybe how she looks will give us an idea."

"Maybe." He felt the crib's frame with his own free servo, thinking the same thing Mirage was. He could tell the noble was just as excited as he was, yet just as nervous. Especially for tomorrow, he knew quite well thanks to his constant reminder.

"Just think," he continued, whispering. "In less than two joors, our little sparkling is gonna be recharging in this thing."

Mirage hummed happily in reply. "I can't _stop_ thinking about it."

After a while of thinking their last thoughts for the night, maybe even for their lives before the sparkling arrived, Hound spoke up. "Now, are you sure you don't want to spend the night in med bay?" he asked.

"No, Hound. I'm fine in my own berth... if something happens, med bay's not far away."

"Alright, alright... just asking."

They walked out of the back room to their berth. "Oh!" Mirage chirped as he laid down on his backstrut, only to sit back up as Hound laid down next to him. "I almost forgot; I meant to show you something, but I never got to..."

"What?" he chuckled.

"Feel..." he whispered, grabbing Hound's servo and placing it on his abdomen.

"Wh - "

"Shhh... wait..."

They waited for a long time. Hound began to pull away after nothing happened, the noble pulling and holding it back. Mirage began to worry that she wouldn't kick for Hound... what if it was too late? What if she wasn't used to Hound, and now she was developed enough and didn't _want_ to know him?

Relief and shock flooded his circuits when the little femme kicked roughly against his chamber. Hound gasped aloud, laughing so hard tears nearly came to his optics. "Oh, jeez, Mirage, that's amazing!"

Mirage laughed slightly as the sparkling kicked a second time. "I discovered it in the wash racks, but then Bumblebee... distracted me, and I completely forgot."

"That's alright... that's really cool. Thanks for showing me," he teased, kissing his helm. Mirage slid down so he laid flat on the berth, Hound doing the same.

As they laid in the dark silence, Mirage soon found himself gripping his abdomen in pain. "Ah," he let out, his helm burying itself in Hound's frame.

"Mirage, please," he started as he stroked his upper arm. "Before something happens..."

"No... I-It's just bad... bad contractions..."

"_Exactly_; _please_ spend the night in med bay..."

"No way... Now if you see oil running down my legs _then_ we'll talk, otherwise I'm staying right here."

Hound sighed in annoyance towards the stubborn mech. "Fine, be that way," he sighed jokingly.

Mirage smiled as offlined his optics, falling into his last recharge before finally being a creator.

* * *

**Day 8**

The noble onlined with sweat running down his faceplate.

_*Today's the day,*_ he kept thinking. _*The big joor...*_

He really didn't want this joor to come. But he did... he wanted it so badly...It'll all be worth it, he told himself. Hound then onlined his bright, smiling optics, shining them down on his beautiful noble.

And guess what was the first thing he thought.

"Today's the day!" he chirped, Mirage almost waiting in the berth for Hound to online and tell him that.

"I know," he sighed, his faceplate still dripping with sweat. And he wasn't even in labor yet.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah... just... extremely nervous..."

"Well don't be. We'll be right by your side, helping you all the way."

"And you won't leave me if I squeeze your servo too tight?" he joked.

"Of course not, love," the scout giggled.

He stood up and helped Mirage on his pedes, barely noticing his abdomen. Mirage did, though, when he stepped in the wash room. The noble stared at his overly-stretched abdomen in the mirror, feeling it with his servo; he was by now equivalent to a human 9 months pregnant, and could start labor any minute and still have a healthy sparkling. Ratchet didn't call him 'due' yet until this afternoon, but anything could happen for a newbie, especially if said newbie is fairly young and a noble.

At least he didn't have to worry about being paranoid around the other mechs. He actually started to get used to all the attention, especially from the twins and Bumblebee.

"Ugghhnnn..." he let out, long and low as he clutched onto the wall. Hound caught him before he fell any lower, helping him back to his pedes.

"Okay, time for med bay..."

"NO! No, Hound, I said I'm fine..."

"That was last night. When you weren't _due_ any minute."

"I'm not due until this afternoon, Hound. I said if we see oil running down my legs, we'll go. But I can still work light shifts."

Hound exhaled rather loud. "_Very_ light shifts, 'Raj. I swear, you're gonna break your own energon..." he laughed.

"No I'm not. She's a trooper... trust me."

Hound chuckled lightly again. "I'll let you work, but as long as you're with me, alright? You can... monitor my datapad for stealth."

"Alright fine. Anything to get me away from berth rest."

* * *

"So did you get anymore of those datapads read?"

"Yes actually, I'm almost done," he replied as they walked to meet Jazz outside the entrance. "I'll finish them tonight."

Jazz spotted them before they got another word out. "Hey, guys!" he pitched, clasping his servos together. "Today's the big day!" Several cheers and whoops left the small crowd of mechs who could hear behind him.

"Yes, we're well aware," Hound said as he looked at Mirage. "We're also too stubborn to visit med bay."

Jazz just laughed as he turned to walk out to the field, the two following him. "So, fellas, do ya have any _names_ picked out?"

"Not really... we were going to wait until she's born to name her.".

"Seems legit..." Jazz responded cheerily.

Hound looked to Mirage as the noble rested a servo on his abdomen, paranoid that his energon would break any nanoklik. Mirage shot him a reassuring smile, forcing him to not worry about him.

"Well, you know the drill Hound, watch - "

Two more cardboard 'Cons shot up from the ground. Hound had been practicing his stuff for the past two orns; he fought like he knew where every "'Con" was located. A dodge here, a leap there, a few more turns and a decapitated cardboard figurine.

Mirage observed with intent.

He had no idea how... graceful... his bondmate was... except for in the berth of course.

_*Crazy sparkling,*_ he thought. _*Making me think weird things...*_

It was as if the femme read his mind. She kicked what seemed like the hardest she had all this time, making Mirage grunt in pain as he bent over at the waist and Hound lose his focus of the cardboard. He turned to the noble, just in time to earn a nice blow to the helm by a line of hot pink BB bullets.

"Primus..." he gasped as he regained consciousness and was able to stand on his own again. Hound kept his optics on him as he fought another Decepti-cardboard, but Mirage waved him to continue as if nothing had happened.

The scout followed his command, although he wasn't too happy about it. He wished so badly Mirage would just go to med bay... he was really starting to give him spark strain.

"You alright over there?" Jazz called to the noble. Mirage nodded, waving him off as well with the datapad.

Mirage stood there, reading over his report. He looked up from time to time when someone shouted out, or simply if he wanted to watch Hound be so graceful as he chopped off cardboard limbs. He chuckled lightly to himself, almost forgetting about the little creation inside him, growing, still growing... would always grow, when she was born. He kept replaying images in his processor on how he would get to watch his little femme grow over the years... stay with her when Ratchet gave her annual checkups and frame advancements. Protect her when she would be curious and explore the wrong things. Or even when _real_ Decepticons attacked, not just cardboard.

He was so caught up in the moment that he barely noticed the oil trickling down his legs.

The next few moments happened so fast...

Suddenly Hound was in his face, shouting his name and smiling.

Why was he smiling?

_*And why are my legs warm and wet?*_

He gasped as he clutched his abdomen and practically fell into Hound as he caught him. He managed to flicker his optics to the sky, and to everyone else who was staring at him and_ smiling. _An F-16 flew overhead, everyone's optics leaving the gasping noble and focusing on the jet...

...That even Mirage could tell looked exactly like Starscream.

"Fantastic," he heard from Hound looming somewhere above him.

But the jet left... it flew over them and didn't stop. Didn't transform. Didn't threaten anyone, or stab a pregnant noble. "I don't think it's a 'Con," someone called.

"No Cybertronian writing," another pitched.

"Get 'em outta here!" He recognized Sunstreaker's voice this time.

Hound focused back on Mirage. "You're okay," he said, the noble's dark optics looking up at him from where he was keeled over and gripping his chamber with both servos. "C'mon, let's go..."

"Is the sparkling coming?" yelled Bumblebee through the small scattered crowd of mechs in the surrounding fields.

More cheers and whoops sounded loud enough for next city to hear after a simple mouthed "I think so" left Hound's smiling lips.

* * *

Ratchet was already basically bouncing with excitement when he got the comm. link message.

He'd been ready for the past joor. Now it was finally time.

And Mirage was not too happy.

"You're alright, 'Raj," the medic comforted him as Wheeljack attached a very narrow tube to the noble's back. "Just breathe, and relax."

He was already clutching onto Hound's servo as tight as he could, mainly out of fear over how much it would hurt. A cycling attack was the last thing he needed at the moment.

"Get some nitrous on him," chirped Perceptor. "Get him calm..."

Ratchet helped him swing his pedes around so he laid on the berth just as Wheeljack slid around from behind, a mask in his servos glowing with purple. He placed the mask over the whimpering noble's faceplate, nitrous oxide steaming into his nasal ridge. Ratchet had discovered nitrous oxide a while back, shortly before Jazz got pregnant, thanks to Spike when they were discussing their culture's different medicines. Ratchet had experimented on many of Spike's suggestions, but only found one that actually worked. Better on Cybertronians than humans, really, Spike noted for him.

And he honestly didn't know _what_ he did without the stuff. He figured he just went with the much-more-intense screaming... he guessed that's why his audio receptors where so low.

Of course he still heard screaming, and was quite used to it. He was also used to the whimpering, moaning, growling, shouting, crying, _kicking_...

_*Oh yeah...*_ he remembered. Mirage. Right.

"Okay, Mirage, relax now, you're almost there..." he soothed as he checked the dilation once more. "Just a few more minutes."

Mirage moaned aloud once again as Wheeljack took the nitrous away. He was struggling so hard not to let a cycling attack take hold of him right now... he had too much work to do. The nervousness and adrenaline shooting through his frame was exhilarating enough as it is.

Hound stroked him helm lovingly. "Looks good, Mirage," Wheeljack chimed in. "You're doing great so far."

"Ugghhh..." he groaned, not in pain, just in thought. He did _not_ want to be here. He hated this situation with a strong passion.

A high-pitched shriek left the noble as his valve continued to expand... "Primus!" he shouted. "How big_ is_ this thing?"

Ratchet and Hound just laughed. "That's just the nitrous talking... you're fine, 'Raj. Hang in there."

"I don't want to be here..." he growled, panting.

"I know... you're okay..."

"Nnggg..." was all he said for a while as he panted in pain, trying not to focus on his aching valve stretching on its own to the point where he thought it would surely tear right down the middle. He turned to Hound, sweat starting to drizzle down his forehelm. The scout smiled at him, with passion, kneeling down as he kept a firm grip on his servo.

"It's gonna be okay," he whispered.

Mirage had his optics glued to his lover's, trying anything to focus on everything else except his dilation. He felt two cold servos spread his legs wider, the medic's optics peering in once again. "I think we can start as soon as you're ready, Mirage, alright?"

Mirage shook his helm as he looked at Ratchet with wide optics.

Ratchet chuckled. "Well, do you just want to carry her for the rest of your lifestream?"

He nodded faster.

"I'm afraid that's not going to work," Wheeljack chimed in playfully.

He turned back to see Hound laughing too. "H...Hound..."

"I'm here, baby," he said quietly as he stroked his helm. "I'm right here."

Mirage shouted in pain as the sparkling kicked again; he could feel that her little pedes had moved upwards, which meant her little helm had moved downwards... Oh Primus, he thought... she's coming... He panted as he keened, clutching onto Hound's servo for dear life.

"Alright, Mirage, listen to me..." Mirage shot his optics to the medic. "Breathe in deeply," he said, telling how he was scared and starting his own cycling attack. "That's it..."

Mirage took a deep breath, holding it in until Ratchet told him to let it out. "Now, breathe out...slowly..."

He choked as he exhaled, tears nearly swelling up his optics as he gritted his denta in sincere pain. "Make it stop..." he murmured raspily.

"I know it hurts, Mirage, just stay with me... I need you to do as I say, okay? When I say 'push', you push, alright?"

Mirage keened as he nodded, one servo gripping Hound's while the other clenched around the berth's handle bar.

"Ready... on three... One, two... three..."

Mirage cried out as he made his first push, too scared to even try his hardest.

* * *

"Jazz!"

"Yes, sir."

"What is the status on the jets outside?"

"Not a threat, Optimus. Simple human government mojo."

You could see the relief flood the semi's circuits. "Thank Primus," he let out, returning to the front of the rec room. The last thing he needed right now was a Decepticon attack, especially with Mirage finally going into labor. He walked up on the platform, clearing his vocals so the whole room could hear.

"Mechs, as you know, Mirage has entered the med bay. Blaster will have pictures as soon as the sparkling is born, and I advise that you remain in these quarters in case something goes wrong."

He doubted anyone would have a problem being required to stay off-shift, waiting for something so exciting as a new sparkling. But he had to say it anyway. And not everyone knew of the photos. Everyone stayed in the rec room, talking amongst one another, drinking energon, pretty much slacking off while Mirage was experiencing pain like never before.

"Has he gone into labor yet?" called Cliffjumper. "Is the sparkling coming?"

Just then a sharp scream came down the hallway, silencing everyone on board. No one moved, jumping as another shout echoed down from the end of the hall where the med bay's location was well-known.

"I think that answers your question..." Ironhide murmured next to him.

* * *

"C'mon, breathe, Mirage... just breathe..."

Wheeljack wiped a cold wash cloth over his sweaty forehelm, pressing the dampness to it. "Calm down, you're doing fine."

Panting, he screamed again as he felt that tiny formation move about his sensitive reproduction area, squirming her way out his valve.

"Oh, PRIMUS!" he screamed again, Hound squeezing his servo as Wheeljack stood by his other side. "Ra... Ratchet... nnnggg..."

"I know, I know, don't strain yourself, Mirage... you're just making more pain by trying too hard."

"Easy paces," said Perceptor softly, petting his large abdomen as he helped Ratchet. "Now, _push_... gently now..."

Mirage keened long and loud as he pushed again, gently like the microscope said, slowly,_ painfully_... oh, so painfully...

He gasped for breath when he couldn't hold it anymore. "That's fine, Mirage, you're doing fantastic!"

"I'm so proud of you," he heard Hound whisper in his audio. "You're almost done... you're doing great."

He continued with the violent panting, optics squeezed so tight that the tears trickled down his faceplate. "Make it sto-op!" he shouted, vocals so weak as he struggled to cycle air peacefully. He kept a firm grasp on Hound's collar ridge as he pushed again, keening, denta so close and so pressed tight that he could bite him.

In fact he did.

What surprised him in all this chaos was that Hound let him. He bit down forcefully on the top of Hound's collar ridge, knowing he was hurting the scout, but it was _nothing_ compared to the reason _why_ he was biting down on him. It actually helped; he squeezed tighter on the servo, allowing himself a long and worthy push.

"Oh..." he let out, letting go of the ridge as he stopped. "Oh... oh... jeez..."

"That's great, Mirage," Hound laughed, barely noticing the sting in his collar. "You're almost there..."

"Nnnggg... Ahhh... AHHHHH! _PRIMUS_, I CAN'T BELIEVE I _WANTED_ THIS!" he screamed louder than he had all morning, squeezing Hound's servo so hard that he thought he heard it crack as the sparkling emerged even further.

"You _did_ want this, Mirage," Ratchet comforted him. "Remember? You're so excited, so happy! Wait until she's born, remember?" His words were like nails on a chalkboard at this point, as the humans say. But pretty nails... that he loved hearing deep down. Half of him wanted everyone to shut up so he could just scream this sparkling out, while the other half _wanted_ the soothing words and touches.

"Think about the sparkling, Mirage," added Wheeljack. "Think about how she'll look when this is all over!"

With that he screamed again, pulling Hound's servo down to the berth as he clutched onto the berth's side bar. "I... AAAGGNnnnhhh... I HATE YOU!" he yelled into Hound's neck.

"I know you do," he teased, watching Ratchet work his digits over the overly-flexing valve, helping the sparkling along. He kissed his helm, taking another damp cloth with his free servo and wiping the copious amounts of sweat away. "I'm still so proud of you..."

"That's it, Mirage... nice n' easy..." Ratchet soothed, words rolling off his glossa like soft candy. "We're almost done..."

"WE?" he panted, keening again. "_I'm_ the one doing all the work...!"

The others chuckled, petting his abdomen and helm as they encouraged him with his final pushings. "C'mon, 'Raj, I know you can do it..." Hound said. "Push, baby, you got this..."

"Dear Primus..." he whined, his vocals barely nothing but static by now. "Please... oh..."

His panting grew fiercer as he sparkling's helm _finally_ started to show itself. "There!" called Ratchet. "I see it! You're almost there!" The medic's digits softly pressed against the valve, rubbing the exterior walls, encouraging the sparkling into the world. He smiled as he saw the helm, remembering clearly Jazz's first sparkling's helm when he was in this predicament.

"Push, Mirage," he heard again. He sat up more, straining, yelling at anyone he could think of, gasping as he tossed his helm back. "Push!"

"You got this... push... _push..._"

Oh... so close... he was almost there! He wanted to_ cry_ he was so close... the pain was unbearable. He let the tears flow, wishing so _desperately_ that this was over...

"I see the helm..." he thought he heard. "Push, baby... one last push" came a voice right next to him.

"C'mon 'Raj, give me just one more push... one more and you're done..." came Ratchet's soothing voice.

He keened, screaming as his whole frame shook; he almost thought he heard Hound whimper as he squeezed unbelievably tight around his servo. _*Push, you moron... You're so close...*_

His constant moan turned to a long shout as he made his final push, straining every cable in his body... _keep pushing,_ he told himself...

He kept his one scream until he felt it. Everything ceased - it was like the Earth stopped spinning... servos were all over him; but he felt that empty chamber... _  
_

"There!"

"Yay!" "She's here..."

"Oh..."

Then he heard it. Crying. _Wailing_ from tiny vocals. He onlined his optics.

He couldn't breathe.

"Get some nitrous on him!" he heard being shouted across the room.

He saw the umbilical cord being cut by red servos. The wailing became fainter as he made out a blurry red mech and red and white mech leave into another room with his sparkling. He felt servos push him down, a mask over his chin, his mouth, breathing in funny air that made him so tired... He made out Hound and Wheeljack looming above him, smiling at him, saying things that he could barely hear.

"Shhh... you're done, Mirage," Hound said so softly, so close to his audio, stroking his helm. "It's all over... you did it!"

He still couldn't breathe. He looked at Hound, trying to process his words. "Calm down... I'm so proud of you," he said with a smile, trying to get his cycling attack's intensity to decrease.

He grabbed for anything - the berth, Hound, cables coming out of him... he just wanted to_ breathe_... He gasped for air desperately as soon as Wheeljack pulled the mask away, but nothing happened. His vision got more blurry and he felt like fainting. That was it.

"Stay with me, 'Raj," he actually was able to hear. He didn't know what was going on - he couldn't think at all. All he knew was his chassis hurt, and he wanted to breathe.

He barely noticed that Wheeljack returned the mask to his faceplate. He sucked in the nitrous drastically, forcing himself to cycle air normally. He bucked as he strained, feeling Hound's slippery servos hold him down, stroking his now-flat abdomen.

"That's it, Mirage," Wheeljack soothed as Mirage's bucking lessened. "Deep breath for me..."

He took the mask away, slowly, Mirage taking a deep steady breath. "Good... now let it out."

He choked as he exhaled, keeping his optics fixed on the hazy scientist. "Good... good job. Breathe in..."

He did.

"...Breathe out."

He did.

The action repeated several times until he quit twitching and bucking completely, managing stable breaths under the mask. He now could think straight... and how Ratchet had done the very same thing to get him through one of his major cycling attacks.

Primus, this must have been a big one, he thought.

"Are you okay?" he saw the scientist's helm fins flash bright purple as he processed the words.

He nodded, a fair sign that he was stable enough to get energon flowing to allow him movement on his own. "Good," he saw him smile. The mech took the mask away and didn't put it back, walking away to the opposite counter.

Mirage looked at Hound, panting severely. He held his helm in his servos, stroking it and resting his own against it, laughing as he comforted his lover. "Oh... Mirage, you did_ great_... I'm so proud of you..."

"I... I'm...done..."

"You're done, yes, baby, it's all over," he chuckled, kissing his helm. Mirage laughed wearily as he offlined his dull optics, finally relaxing in Hound's embrace. "_Oh, Primus_... I'm so proud... I can't wait for you to see her..."

"...You... saw h-her?"

"Yeah," he whispered softly. "Yeah, she's beautiful... looks a lot like you," he laughed.

"Really?"

"Yeah," he answered, staring passionately into those tired, wide optics. "She's mainly blue... though I couldn't see much since she was covered in energon."

Mirage laughed as he onlined his optics. "Sorry..." he teased.

"_Please._ Now c'mon, I'll help you sit up..."

* * *

"Hand me that tube, Perce," Ratchet chirped over wailing vocals underneath him.

The red mech handed him the narrow clear tube, watching as the medic hooked it up to the crying sparkling, feeding it energon as he finally got it stabilized and cycling air normally.

"There," he let out with a sigh. "All clean and presentable."

Perceptor smiled as Ratchet picked up the sparkling, holding her for the first real time. Wheeljack loved the look on his faceplate... one that he hadn't seen for eons since Jazz's sparkling. He never saw the medic this happy, ever - _maybe_ during the Golden Age, but not twice after that.

And if he hadn't have made that face, he would have completely forgotten about the pictures Blaster needed.

He quickly pulled out the hand-held camera Blaster gave him and snapped the picture of the medic's face as he held that little sparkling. This, he thought, would be his favorite.

Ratchet gave him a playful look of annoyance as he turned to leave the back room.

* * *

Hound continued stroking his bondmate's helm as he sat next to him on the berth. He had the noble sitting up, his helm resting on Hound's shoulder as he offlined his optics for the time being. He also got his cycling under better control, listening to him cycle with ease, peacefully enjoying his lover's embrace as tired as he was.

"Mirage," he stirred him. "Mirage, look..."

Ratchet walked in with the sparkling, holding her with such love and gentleness that any passing mech would think he was the creator. "Look at this beauty," he teased, grin widening as the sparkling cooed in his arms.

Mirage onlined his optics, the fading dullness brightening to their fullest. He smiled silently as Ratchet handed him the femme... He couldn't believe it.

His family was here.

He made that? he wondered. _*Primus...*_ was all he thought, over and over again. He had no words. His wide optics and big smile never left the tiny faceplate in his arms; he stared at her and nothing more, taking in the fact that he was sitting here, right now, with Hound by his side peering over his shoulder, holding his very own creation in his very arms.

Hound was right; she was mostly blue, with a big chunk of silver on her upper arms and chassis. Sparkling colors were often very dull when they were first born, developing on their own as they grew, even though their frame advancements and checkups would change it, along with when they eventually chose an alt mode and transformed.

Her optics fluttered up to Mirage... those huge, sea-blue optics, shining up at him, still squinting from the harsh lighting she really wasn't used to. Ratchet had wrapped her in a soft, dark green blanket, a rarity even the medic was surprised he still kept after all these years.

"Hi..." he managed after the longest silent moment he'd ever experienced. "...my little femme..." he whispered.

The sparkling cooed again, moving her tiny servos up to her faceplate, slowly, stretching her limbs for the first time.

"I told you she looked like you..." Hound mentioned into his audio. "She's beautiful."

Mirage's smile grew wider. He held her closer, showing her love and protection, generating heat from his chassis to warm her since she was obviously still cold from emerging out of her secure habitat. He thunked his helm against Hound, wanting to just cry again... cry tears of joy this time. Words couldn't describe how happy he felt at this moment. The pain seemed to disappear; all he thought about was this tiny half-noble Cybertronian in his arms.

"Primus," was the only thing anyone heard Ratchet say.

"An actual sparkling..." Perceptor let out. "I still can't believe my optics..."

"Me neither, Perce..." Wheeljack chimed in.

After a while, Mirage spoke a solid sentence. "What about... Glazer..." he offered, not looking away from the sparkling as everyone else looked at him. The silver on her upper half reminded him of the Towers he grew up in; always looking like they were covered with a glaze of some sort. She looked shiny... and he thought 'Glazer' fit her perfectly.

"Glazer..." Hound repeated, optics fluttering back down to his sparkling. "...I like it, 'Raj."

"That's a good name," Ratchet said with a smile. "_Glazer._"

Everyone paused again as the sparkling turned her helm to stretch it, looking back up at Mirage and _laughing._ Hound and Mirage both giggled, so happy that their sparkling was finally here in the world with them. Wheeljack held up the camera, aiming in until it was perfect, snapping the photo of the new family.


	11. Now The Others Know

**Basis:** G1

**Pairings: **HoundxMirage, TwinsxBluestreak, TracksxBlaster

So I had OneRepublic going through my head while writing this whole chapter... that might explain the long mushiness. Sorry.

But then Deadmau5 found its way inside my head, so that may help with the ending...

I also just threw in some smut fluff since the chapter was so short... I had to think of something so I could start Day 9 next chapter. (And I needed TwinsxBlue stuff xP)

* * *

By this point everyone was quiet. They were too nervous... every scream of pain from down the hallway had made them jump. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker sat in the floor against a wall, biting their fists as everyone either paced or did something similar.

Even Optimus looked nervous.

Everyone jumped out of their frame as Ratchet ran in towards Optimus. They whispered to one another, everyone hinting the smile on Ratchet's faceplate spreading to the leader's. Ratchet turned to face the crowd on the platform, clearing his vocals and trying to put his smile away.

Even though it was quite hard when every mech in the room was smiling back at him.

"Gentlemechs," he presented, aiming a hand-held pointer towards the main screen for everyone to see, Blaster flicking in on and watching the first picture pop up. "Welcome... little Glazer."

Everyone oh-ed and ah-ed, gasping, aw-ing, silently observing as the first picture of Glazer wrapped in her green blanket popped up on the screen. Ratchet had to admit, she was one of the best sparklings he'd ever delivered; beautiful, healthy, the right size, no defects,_ perfect_...

"Time of birth, 11:05 AM."

No one's optics left the screen. A _sparkling_... this was unreal. And a _femme_ at that... A beautiful, gorgeous, healthy femme. First one in over 4 million years.

Prowl felt Jazz's sweating digits reach for his tiredly. He clutched onto his servo, not looking away from the femme as Prowl looked to him and smiled.

He knew Jazz was beyond proud of his friend. He couldn't even remember how long they'd been so close... before Mirage was an Autobot for sure. Jazz would be one of few Mirage would trust so heavily with his sparkling... and Jazz knew it. He just smiled at the screen, at the sparkling... grasping Prowl's servo tighter as he remembered the noble's words on how he trusted him.

"Good job," the medic heard whispered into his audio. He turned to see Ironhide standing next to him, optics glued to the sparkling's photo as he smiled at his bondmate.

"Thank you..." was all he said, knowing what Ironhide was really talking about.

He turned to Blaster to see the boombox nod. He clicked the device in his servo, the picture switching to one that made the whole Ark laugh.

Ratchet even giggled when he saw himself with a goofy grin taking up his whole faceplate as he held the sparkling for the first time. Wheeljack... he thought. That slagger. It was a cute picture though, and Ratchet didn't deny he still got all warm and tingly when he saw the tiny femme.

"So how is the mech?" he asked after he switched to the next photo of the family together.

"He's great," he smiled. "Did fantastic. Hound and I are very proud of him."

Ironhide chuckled as he leaned next the medic and caught him off guard, kissing his neck. "Ironhide..." he giggled. "Not now."

"Fine," he said, pulling back as the medic clicked the device again. This one was nice, he thought; everyone awed at the picture of just Mirage's faceplate so close to the sparkling's... you could see every detail of his exhausted optics, shining just enough to see his little creation, looking down at her as she looked up at him with wide ones. You could see the faint trickles of sweat beading down his forehelm still, the photo being snapped somehow _just after_ Mirage gave birth to her. The picture looked like it belonged in a movie.

Blaster and Ratchet flipped through the rest of the few photos remaining. When they were finished, several cheers and whoops left the crowd, celebrating the first femme sparkling in a _long_ time in the long history of Autobots.

* * *

That evening, everything settled down.

Ratchet let Hound hold the sparkling after Mirage sank into his much-needed recharge. The scout sat on the edge of the berth with his sparkling in his arms, caressing her with such passion that the femme smiled almost the whole time.

He murmured soft words to her, most of them only they two could hear. He stroked her tiny helm with his thumb, gently, earning soft coos from her small vocals.

Ratchet walked over to him to watch the magnificent sparkling coo in his hold. "You two did a fine job," he whispered playfully as to not wake Mirage.

He looked up at the medic. "Thank you," he smiled.

Soon Ratchet noticed his collar ridge and the denta marks in it. "Do you want to me fix that?" he asked quietly.

"Hm?"

He merely pointed to his collar.

"Oh..." he chuckled. "Um..."

"I'm sure it stings..."

"Uhm, sure. Yeah, if you want. In a minute."

Ratchet slowly walked away, leaving Hound with his little daughter. The scout barely even noticed the marks from where Mirage bit him... he was too lost in the moment of his own sparkling. But now that he thought about it, he wondered what his servo looked like...

After a while Glazer began to fuss, whimpering and writhing in Hound's arms. Ratchet walked over and announced he would put her in the med bay nursery for the night, where she would be monitored and kept warm and safe. As they transferred the sparkling into Ratchet's arms, the medic pointed out his cracked servo.

"I'll fix that too in a minute," he whispered. Hound watched Ratchet take Glazer into the nursery, and observed his own servo. It didn't hurt too bad, he realized, it just looked dented.

Who knew Mirage had such a grip. When he was in enough pain, that is.

The image actually made him chuckled softly to himself. He thought over if he should just leave it, for a good memory. Of course Ratchet wouldn't approve; when he returned from the nursery, he already had his buffer ready to use. He motioned with his helm for the scout to come over to the counter where he was so he could work on him without waking the recharging noble.

"This won't hurt," he whispered. "Just be sure to not jerk away." He flipped on the switch and started buffing out the dents, later waxing over the cracks. The end result looked good as new.

"Thank you," he said quietly. "For everything."

Ratchet looked up at he set the tool down. "Not a problem... It's what I do," he replied with a grin.

* * *

Mirage onlined with hazy optics. The first thing he barely could focus on was a green figure staring down into his optics, smiling at him comfortingly.

"Hi, baby," he whispered with a big grin.

"...Hi..." he sighed, his bondmate coming into a better view. "W-Where's the... sparkling?"

"Ratchet put her in the nursery," he answered softly.

"Ratchet..." he mumbled, as if trying to remember the mech. "What... time is it?"

Hound helped him sit up on the berth, and then sat back down next to him. "Almost 2300 hours. You recharged for over nine cycles," he chuckled lightly.

"Doesn't surprise me," he muttered playfully. "_You_ try using every cable in your body to push out a sparkling through a small stretched hole. Then see how tired you are."

"I didn't say anything," he teased.

He stroked his helm again and again as they sat there, enjoying each other's presence in the peace and quiet. It felt _so good_ to relax, Mirage thought. Those eights joors... especially that last one... _Primus..._ But now he could finally relax, without a sparkling kicking his internals or emerging from his valve.

"Did I tell you I'm proud of you?" Hound whispered into his audio after a while.

"Only about seven times," he replied jokingly.

Their servos intertwined with each other's in the silent darkness. "Oh..." he spoke up after a moment. "How's your collar?"

Hound just chuckled. "It's fine. Ratchet buffed it up. My servo too."

"What happened to your servo?"

"You and Glazer happened to it..."

Mirage guffawed. "_Primus,_ Hound, I _thought_ I heard it crack or something... are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. It's no big deal. It's fixed now," he laughed, showing the noble his 'new' servo.

Mirage shook his helm as he giggled. Breaking his lover's servo. That's a first. "Did everyone see the pictures?"

"Yeah. Everyone is so excited to meet her tomorrow. You should have seen their faces."

"...I'm sorry I said I hate you..."

Hound laughed again as he kissed Mirage's servo. "It's alright, I know you didn't mean it." He then kissed his forehelm after Mirage shook it in reply.

Then he kissed his lips... those tired, cool, still-soft lips that he realized he hadn't kissed since maybe the first day Mirage was pregnant. They stayed in their same position for a while, slowly kissing the other, feeling the other's warmth generate off the other. Hound pulled away and turned his helm before diving back in for more, loving his bondmate passionately.

Mirage really loved this. He always loved it when Hound fulfilled human catch phrases, such as "making out". He loved making out, as strange as that sounds. He didn't know why; he always felt warm inside when he saw it on TV, let alone when he and Hound did it.

Hound eventually pulled away, very slowly, not really wanting to break the kiss. "I love you," he said so quietly, it was like he was talking to himself.

"I love you too," he replied, resting his forehelm against Hound's. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"...For... the sparkling... for being here for me. For being my bondmate."

Hound just chuckled. "I think you still have a little nitrous running through you," he teased. "But thank _you_ for the same."

Mirage offlined his optics as he rested against Hound. He suddenly started thinking about Jazz... he told him he'd come and see him once the sparkling was born, but he hadn't shown up yet. He wondered if he was okay... If he even wanted to see him. Or even the sparkling? He onlined his optics, staring off in the darkness as Hound stroked his frame. He kept his helm rested against his chassis, feeling his spark pulsating calmly within its casing. He wished he could see Jazz right now... there was something about that hug the joor before that told him Jazz was still worried about him. He hoped Jazz would come by soon to see how everything was fine, even though it was almost midnight.

It was still nearly pitch-black in the med bay, save for bright monitor screens here and there and the very faint light in the nursery, when the med bay doors swooshed open. A mech walked it; neither could tell who it was by just the silhouette.

He stepped closer, and the doors shut behind him. A single blue line came into view, and Mirage smiled as he realized who it was. Of course, he though. How ironic.

"Mirage..." came a soft, quiet voice from the figure.

"Hi Jazz," he replied. He felt Hound leave his side and heard him walk over to the opposite side of the room, squinting slightly as he turned the light switch to their lowest setting.

"Hey, man," he whispered, faceplate neutral. "How ya doin'?"

"I'm good... tired, but I'm okay."

"That's good," he said, turning to Hound as he returned and looking back at the noble. "How's the, um, sparkling?"

"She's great," he smiled. "She's recharging right now in the nursery." He gestured to the back room where light shined just barely.

Jazz looked at the glass wall where you could see into the nursery. He smiled a little, rubbing his servos together nervously as he turned back to the two mechs.

"So where's Prowl?" Hound asked.

"Oh... I, um, couldn't recharge... I sneaked out while he was recharging and came to see if you were doin' alright."

"Oh, yeah Jazz, thanks," he said reassuringly.

"Want to see the sparkling?" Hound offered after a while of silence.

"Where's Ratchet?"

"Recharging in his quarters," he said, gesturing to the opposite back room. "I finally got 'em to take a break; I said I'd watch over 'Raj and the sparkling."

"Oh..." he smiled wearily. "Well, yeah, sure... Yeah I want to see her."

Hound helped Mirage up on his wobbly pedes, holding him up as they walked to the nursery. "There she is," he whispered as they saw her through the glass wall.

"Jeez..." he let out weakly. "I saw her in the photos, but not like this... She's so pretty..."

"Yeah," he sighed. "She is... Thank you."

They kept gazing at their little femme, looking so peaceful as she recharged. Her tiny, bright optics, now faded out, blending into her dark silver faceplate, lips slightly parted as she made small hiccups here and there. Her little digits curled around the blanket that had slid off of her, mainly from Ratchet pulling it down so she didn't suffocate.

"It was worth it..." Mirage finally whispered, more to Jazz than Hound.

"What?"

"The pain... it was worth it."

Jazz kept his optics on the glass and his face expressionless. Mirage was at first worried that Jazz would be upset, either out of jealousy or out of thought that the sparkling would leave them, too. Of course he didn't want Jazz to be jealous; he wanted him happy. He wanted him to think everything would be alright.

He smiled as Jazz turned to him slowly, smiling.

* * *

The 'celebration' lasted longer than any mech expected. Even the twins. Optimus had left just 20 kliks ago.

"C'moooon..." Bluestreak moaned, dragging Sunstreaker by the servo out of the rec room. "I neeeed you..."

It was clear the twins' plan to get Bluestreak drunk on the red Lambo's highgrade had worked; they just had to play hard-to-get, and they'd have the gunner writhing both on top and underneath them for the rest of the night.

"No, Blue," the Lambo replied finally, yanking his servo out of his.

Bluestreak whined in annoyance and pushed the golden mech to the wall, forcefully clicking open his panel and snapping open his own. His spike emerged immediately, stiff and throbbing, almost painful as it found Sunny's valve entrance so quickly.

Sunstreaker struggled against the wall, smiling at his twin when Bluestreak wasn't looking. "Just wait," the gunner told him, making the yellow twin grunt as his spike pierced his platelets and started thrusting automatically in the corner of the rec room.

The fun thing was that they were not the only ones feeling hot with arousal and desire; Tracks had Blaster on his lap as he worked his valve, making the boombox moan into the air by just two of his digits. Sunstreaker panted as he watched with lust-filled optics, his arousal building quickly as Blaster bucked and rode the digits hard, moaning... you could tell he was just on the edge of overload by his facial expressions and sexy noises.

Sunstreaker groaned as he watched the boombox overload, moaning repeatedly as he tossed him helm back, writhing on Tracks' lap as transfluid erupted from his erect spike and valve and trickled down onto the corvette.

"Oooh, Primus..." the frontliner whispered, grunting as Bluestreak hit the same sensor node continuously. "Blue... please..."

"Overload," he demanded. "Overload..."

He had the twin panting, gripping his shoulders as every thrust made his aft hit the wall. Sunstreaker gasped as he spread his legs wider for the gunner, begging him for more, to go harder, deeper... Until he shouted in pleasure as he finally overloaded, transfluid shooting from his stiff spike and gushing all over Bluestreak's.

"Sunny..." he moaned, panting. "You're so... tight..." And with that he let himself overload hard into the mech, clutching his hip plating firmly as he thrusted uncontrollably, not caring about the drunken mechs who looked their way even though the music nearly tuned them out.

As their overloads died off, Sunstreaker managed to regain consciousness and notice how Sideswipe had left. Bluestreak retracted his spike, panting as he stepped away from the twin.

"Not so fast," Sunny surprised him as he grabbed his arm and pulled him back in for a hot, wet kiss. "We're not through with you..." he smirked sexily.

"Sideswipe isn't even here," he rasped. Sunstreaker gestured with his helm to his left, where Sideswipe was happily involved in a nice threesome. Bluestreak turned just in time to see the red twin overload hard into Bumblebee beneath him, while Trailbreaker grunted out his own inside the Lambo.

"Ohhh..." he let out, still breathless from his last overload. "Uhm..."

Sunstreaker grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the rec room, Sideswipe noticing as he came to his senses and following them.

"Wait..." he protested uselessly. "I... I won't last..."

"Not a problem; we'll give you some energy," boasted Sunstreaker erotically. Sideswipe smirked as he caught up with them, smacking Bluestreak on the aft and tickling his wings, making him yelp.

When they got to their quarters, Sideswipe ran to the berth and snapped open his panel, lubricant dripping into the surface from his soaked valve. "Look at him," Sunstreaker whispered hoarsely into the gunner's audio as he nudged him towards the whimpering mech. "He can't _wait_ for you... that beautiful spike of yours... we _want_ you to make us feel good, Blue. Don't you want to feel good?"

Bluestreak gulped as he found himself practically already panting, feeling a warm servo bounce up and down his pressurized spike. Sunstreaker rubbed his digits over the tip as he hit the berth, forcing him on the surface and aligning his spike up with Sideswipe's valve for him.

"There you go... now frag him nice. I want to watch him overload _hard_," he rasped, the sexy vocals sending shivers down Bluestreak's back column.

He gently pushed his spike in the dripping valve, gasping as the pressure somewhat released when the valve clenched tightly around it. He felt Sunstreaker's spike penetrate his valve from behind, feeling it stretch and curve so it got in deeper. He gasped as he felt it hit a main sensor node, the spike thrusting faster and more erotically as it thumped against the walls.

It didn't take long until Sideswipe was a panting mess, gasping at every thrust as he begged the gunner to go harder until his valve bled.

It felt so good, he thought, yet it worried him. If he didn't know any better, he'd think that Sideswipe was gasping in actual pain as he hit the same node cluster in the back wall repeatedly. He moaned as Sideswipe tossed his helm back, feeling Sunny's own spike stiffen with every thrust. The golden twin grabbed the gunner's legs and spread them wider, groaning as he bucked and thrusted at a new angle, almost whining as he neared his climax.

He had Sideswipe bucking as well, begging for that hot shaft to take him now, to just pleasure him and never stop. He moaned just at the thought, clutching his hip plating and thrusting harder until he had the twin almost in tears, whining and growling at him as he bucked continuously.

"Bl... Blue... ahh... c'mon," he gasped as he bucked, helm thrown back as he rode the spike. The gunner barely had time to think as his own overload surprised him; he cried out the loudest he had all night, bucking outwards from Sunstreaker's spike and into Sideswipe's valve as fast as he could, shrieking with pleasure as he heard and felt the red Lambo overload.

Gasping Bluestreak's name, Sideswipe bucked harshly as he overloaded, his twin brother watching him and smirking with arousal. Oh, he'd have to try that himself when Bluestreak left...

Sunstreaker eventually let himself come, overloaded hard but silently as he panted through parted lips, transfluid shooting into Bluestreak's tight little hole and making him whimper.

"Okay..." Bluestreak panted as their overloads subsided. "I really - "

"I don't think so," Sideswipe chirped with a smirk as he pulled himself off of the still-erect spike. "We're only getting started."

He suddenly yelped again as Sunstreaker threw him on his back on the berth, handcuffs snapping on his wrists as the two loomed above him. "But I really need to go..." he panted, whimpering as Sunstreaker knelt above him and thrusted his spike in his valve. "I... I need... I have to - have recon in...morning...early..."

He found himself succumbing to the unwanted yet wanted pleasure as Sunstreaker paced nice and easy in the clenching valve. "Ooh..." he let out, offlining his optics and enjoying the thick shaft penetrating him in deep circular movements.

Before he knew it he was overloading, arching high off the berth and gasping as he felt that hot transfluid fill his aching valve to the brim. Sunstreaker retracted his spike, panting slightly, still not completely satisfied.

Bluestreak heard the twins whispering to each other. He onlined his optics, seeing them laugh wearily and Sideswipe walking towards him. He picked up the gunner and slid underneath him so he was on his lap, and started stroking his hardening spike with ease.

"Guys, please..." he whined, unsuccessfully getting them to stop. The twins just smirked; Sunstreaker sat opposite of his brother in front off Bluestreak and swapped servos, pumping his spike agonizingly slowly as Sideswipe urged his own spike forward, teasing the gunner's excited valve senseless. "Nnggg... just_ frag_ me already!"

"With_ pleasure_..." Sideswipe pitched, grinning widely as he penetrated the ridiculously-soaked valve once more. He started a nice fast pace, making the gunner writhe in his lap, moaning with both joy and annoyance.

He saw the golden mech get on his knees, feeling his hot lips and glossa nip his neck with passion. Adrenaline shot through his frame, whimpering softly as Sunstreaker shoved two digits up his valve along with Sideswipe's spike.

"What..." he started breathlessly, moaning with pain as Sunstreaker stretched his valve, adding two more digits to the valve. "Wh... Sunny... please..."

"Sorry, my little _sex kitten_... But I still need a decent overload." With that he had the gunner crying out as he shoved his spike up in with Sideswipe's, thrusting forcefully and moaning quite loud himself at their lover's reactions.

He shrieked as they both hit the same node cluster simultaneously, hearing moans from both mechs in either audio receptor. He bucked harshly into Sunstreaker, spreading his legs as wide as possible to make room for the two spikes, hating how insanely _good_ it was making him feel.

"Oh... Oh... oh..." he let out, repeatedly, focusing on the two pleasure shafts so he could overload and get them out. He finally did, gasping and bucking wildly, bouncing on and riding the spikes _hard_ to make it more intense.

"Oh, Primus," Sunstreaker groaned as he overloaded himself, bucking even harder. Sideswipe soon followed, moaning their names as pleasure exploded through his circuits.

Eventually they all settled down, panting as overload washed through them. "Great... Primus," Bluestreak let out as the two retracted their spikes and let his aching valve relax.

"Alright, Bluestreak," Sideswipe moaned. "Get some recharge..."

"What? No... no, no, no..." he chirped, the two Lamborghinis looking at him in shock. "No way, you're not just gonna frag me to the pit simply for your own pleasure, then scoot me off." He flipped so he was on all fours, crawling towards and making Sunstreaker flinch backwards. "_I_ need you, _too_," he rasped so sexily that it sent chills down the twins' backstruts.

Suddenly Sideswipe was on the floor with handcuffed servos behind him, his brother's spike in his mouth and Bluestreak's thrusting up his valve.


	12. I Can't, I'm Sorry

**Basis:** G1

**Pairings: **HoundxMirage

Story Time! ehehehe... I get to write my own version of P&J's "first moment" together x)

More mushiness! Yay!

Yeah... it's summer... I can do as I please... and there's nothing to do for the time being since I'm babysitting all day long for 5 weeks than write mushy mpreg stories:)

* * *

**Day 9**

Jazz onlined slowly and peacefully next to Prowl. In fact it didn't take him long to realize that the tactician was holding him rather close; his arms were wrapped around him like he was a sparkling, but with more sincere love and passion. His helm rested just against his, almost smiling as he remained in his warm recharge state.

Jazz smiled next to him. He stared into his offlined optics, replaying his and Mirage's conversation in his helm when he was still carrying.

_"I want you to have another sparkling..."_ he heard in his helm like Mirage was right there telling him again. _"I want you to... With Prowl... I want you to trust me."_

_"I do trust you."_

_"...I want you to trust me..." _he remembered.

_"...I do trust you..." _he thought. He _knew_. He forced himself to trust him.

_*Mirage...* _was all he thought. He_ did _trust him. He was... his best friend, now that he thought about it. How long ago had they met? Been best friends? Long before the war, he knew... before he even met Hound. _  
_

_*I could have stopped him...*_

_*No, Jazz... why would you stop him? To meet your own needs? Prevent your own fears? Absurd.*_

Prowl suddenly onlined, so quietly Jazz wouldn't have known if the tactician hadn't moved his arms to hold him even closer. It felt so good... to be wrapped in his lover's embrace... that warm, reassuring, comforting embrace he'd known ever since he first onlined next to him in a berth... The one embrace he would have never discovered if Prowl hadn't asked him out at that transport station back in Praxus when he was visiting..._  
_

His thoughts fluttered around until he came across their first kiss. He smiled at the thought, barely noticing how Prowl was stroking his helm in the dawn silence. He remembered it perfectly... almost more so than the sparklingbirth. They had just returned from their third 'date' from a classic energon bar back on Cybertron; Prowl had walked him to his apartment back in Vos, where Prowl lived in just the neighboring city-state Praxus.

_"I had a good time tonight,"_ Jazz remembered saying to Prowl when they reached his single apartment entrance.

_"So did I,"_ he replied with a loving smile. _"I hope to meet you again soon."_

Jazz remembered smiling back._ "I'm free anytime,"_ he teased.

Prowl chuckled lightly, but Jazz remembered those bright optics staring down into his like he was in a trance. They stood outside his doors for a while, silent in the dark hallway. He remembered Prowl reaching down and taking his servo, playing with his digits teasingly.

_"I really do like you,"_ he said to him, almost whispering.

_"I like you too,"_ he said back, smiling widely.

Then Prowl was leaning forward, so slowly, keeping his optics on Jazz's smiling ones. Their lips met, softly, passionately, meshing together so perfectly like the last piece of a puzzle. Jazz offlined his optics after Prowl had already... he'd been waiting for this. He'd been wanting this ever since he first laid optics on Prowl... ever since their first date. He remembered pressing his free servo against Prowl's chassis as his helm turned the slightest bit to deepen this wonderful kiss, while his other clenched softly in Prowl's.

Prowl pulled away almost in slow-motion, leaving a gap so small between their lips as he quietly dove back in for more. It tasted so good... _felt_ so good, Jazz remembered clearly. He took a while to online his tired optics as Prowl pulled his lips away again, smiling a smile that Jazz felt had just made his lifestream complete.

_"Thank you..."_ he remembered whispering._ "For everything."_

Prowl softly laughed. _"Thank_ you_,"_ he said. Clear as a bell. _"Goodnight, Jazz,"_ he said smoothly after a moment, turning to leave as he playfully let go of Jazz's servo.

_"Goodnight,"_ he sighed, smiling as he fiddled with the lock pad and entered his apartment for the night.

And to think, he thought over as he came back to reality, that just one little kiss could turn on so many thoughts in his CPU... thoughts that led to more dates... serious dates, serious conversations, serious or playful interfacing. Bondage... for life... Sparklings. Oh yes, the sparklings, he remembered.

Clear as a bell.

"Good morning," he heard in his right audio. He huffed through his nasal ridge as he turned his helm, Prowl's optics so close to his it almost gave him a helmache.

"'Mornin'," he sighed, patting Prowl's servo on his chassis gently.

Prowl scooted upwards and stroked his lover's frame, resting his helm against Jazz's. He said nothing; he just kissed the side of his helm, and held him.

After a while of silence, Jazz shifted so Prowl would let go. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Jazz simply shook his helm as he turned to face his bondmate. "Nothin'," he said, almost depressingly.

Prowl gazed at his lover for the longest time, trying to read that dull visor and the sad faceplate underneath it. "I noticed you left last night," he said at last.

Jazz looked up. "You noticed?"

Prowl simply nodded, then smiled. "I figured you needed to talk to Mirage. And see the sparkling."

"It was more Mirage than the sparkling..." he muttered after a while, turning his gaze down to the berth again.

"Hm," was all he said as he continued to stroke him in a loving manner. "Well what are you thinking about? If nothing's wrong."

"Nothin'..."

"You're not thinking about anything?" he teased.

At least he got a smile out of Jazz. "I'm just thinking about Mirage... That's all."

Prowl leaned in to comfort him more, snuggling up to his neck and lightly kissing it. "What about Mirage...?" he whispered.

"... Just our conversation... before he had the sparkling... He told me some things. And asked me to do someth - some things..."

"Oh?" he said, pulling away. "What kinds of things?"

"...Uhm... just, he trusts me enough to watch the sparkling, you know, when he needs me to sparkling-sit."

"Ahh," he said, gently tracing his digit over Jazz's cheek plate. "I see. Well you'll make a great sparkling-sitter, Jazzy." With that he kissed his cheek plate and jumped up off the berth, walking into the wash room.

Jazz was thankful that Prowl hadn't asked him anymore questions... he wasn't ready to tell Prowl about his and Mirage's actual conversation, about trying again. The thought already made him nervous... if he told Prowl, Prowl might talk him into trying, and if Jazz agreed, he might regret it later, and by then it will have been too late.

Jazz got up off the berth and walked into the wash room. He paid no attention to his bondmate in the shower as he walked towards the mirror, looking at himself, touching his visor, observing his skinny frame... He didn't look too small, he thought. He looked just right... like an average mech. He had the hips for a sparkling... just not the valve. But like he said, it was probably a little bigger now, considering it's been eons since his last sparkling. Two sparklings, he reminded himself.

"You okay?" he heard, and looked at Prowl through the mirror.

"Yeah," he replied softly. "Fine." He started to leave the wash room when Prowl called his name.

"Jazz, wait..."

He turned around to face the tactician standing in the shower, watching the cool water pelt his door wings the way he knew he liked it. "Come here," he heard him say, and slowly walked towards the wash rack without saying a word.

Prowl offered his servo and Jazz took it. He cautiously stepped into the wash rack with the SIC, not taking his optics off of him as he did so. Prowl rubbed his servos up and down either side of Jazz's upper arms, bringing him into the drizzling water.

He winced as he adjusted to the temperature, knowing Prowl always liked it colder than he did. He slowly relaxed as his frame got used to it, Prowl stroking his frame and looking him over. "Jazz," he started, whispering, grabbing his chin and making him look up at him. "Baby, _please,_ tell me what happened with you and Mirage. You're making me worried..."

Jazz sighed as he looked down at the water disappearing down the drain. "I told you..."

"Jazz, I know there's more to it than that."

Jazz looked back up, remembering all over again their first kiss. The way he looked at him in the hallway outside his apartment; the way he was looking at him now... Those big, bright optics, staring at his, reading his own thoughts...

Those cursed optics, he thought.

"I _hate_ seeing you like this, Jazz. You're _never_ like this... Do you know how much this worries me?"

"I'm sorry," he said lowly, feeling the water pelt his own little sensor nodes in the small of his back from the side of the wash rack. "I really am, Prowler. I don't want to worry you... that's the _last_ thing I wanna do."

Prowl looked him over as they paused. He let go of Jazz's chin and returned his servo to his arm, leaning in slowly just like he had that night outside the saboteur's apartment. Only this time he went for his neck; kissing it, passionately, sliding his warm glossa around the cables, making Jazz shudder his visor.

"I just... need to tell you later."

Prowl gave one last kiss before pulling back. "Why can't you tell me now?"

"Because I need time to think," he answered sternly.

"Alright," Prowl said quietly after another pause. "Alright, Jazz. I'm not forcing you to do anything."

Jazz looked up again into Prowl's memorable optics. He wouldn't force him to do anything... he just said it. He had his word. This made him relax slightly more, even though Prowl's words weren't exactly intended for what Jazz took them for. He stepped closer to his lover, thumping his helm against Prowl's chassis and letting the cool water hit every inch of his frame. He soon felt two servos wrap around his back and the rest of his frame, hugging him, just holding him... like he had done with Mirage that night they talked in his quarters.

Prowl rested his helm on Jazz's shoulder, holding him close. "Don't worry, baby..." he whispered, gently rocking them in sync, back and forth very slightly. "Everything'll be alright. I promise."

* * *

Mirage onlined as he found himself cycling air roughly.

He took a while to register his surroundings... and why was he cycling so harshly?

How'd he get on this berth? Oh yeah... Oh yeah! he remembered. _Glazer_.

Little Glazer... just in the little nursery across the med bay from where he was laying.

But where was Hound? he wondered. Suddenly a mech surprised him by walking towards him, making him jump as he sat up on the berth.

"Oh, sorry 'Raj," Ratchet chuckled. "Just checkin' your vital statistics... nothing to worry about."

"H- How's the sparkling?" he asked, noticing his vocals sounded weak. Probably from all that screaming yesterday, he reminded himself.

"She's great," he answered with a bright smile as he typed at a monitor. "I'll let you hold her in a minute... Wheeljack's in there feeding her since she wouldn't stop crying. I'm actually surprised you recharged through it, as tired as I know you were."

Mirage smiled slightly as he looked towards the nursery wall. "Where's Hound?"

"Went to get you some energon. He'll be back any minute."

"Okay," he whispered to himself as Ratchet left. Just then the scout walked in, carrying two cubes of energon.

"Morning, 'Raj," he chirped playfully. "Recharge well?"

"Yeah," he let out, taking the offered cube. "Thanks... But did you, um, stay in here? The whole night?"

"Almost," he answered as he sat down next to him. "I stayed until you fell back into recharge. I couldn't recharge, though, so I went for a drive and got back early this morning, and just stayed with here with you until you onlined."

"Oh," he chuckled. "Well I'm sorry... but thank you for staying." Hound smiled back just before the med bay doors flew open and Bluestreak walked in. Wheeljack and Perceptor started out the nursery doorway, but stopped as they noticed the strange-acting mech.

He stopped in the doorway, frowning, glancing at Mirage and refocusing on what he came there for. His optics brightened as he spotted the cooling gel and a cube of reformatted energon for the medic, and walked over to them.

Everyone paused to watch the gunner. "Bluestreak?" Ratchet asked with a curious look. Bluestreak said nothing. He subspaced the gel and picked up the cube, turning and walking away.

"Bluestreak, wait, I - " But the medic cut himself off when the gunner flicked off his middle finger at the medic without even turning around as he left the med bay. Something Spike told him about.

Everyone turned to Ratchet when Bluestreak left, watching him shut his jaw but widen his optics at the action. "Well... that was... odd behavior from the mech..."

"What did he take that only med bay had?" Mirage asked.

"Just some formatted energon to help with aches and problems and such, like helmaches. Crazy mech probably got too caught up in last night's_ party_ and's suffering a 'hangover'... and the gel's probably 'cause he either fragged or got fragged too many times." Hound and Mirage just smirked to themselves.

Wheeljack walked in after a minute, holding the sparkling, Perceptor right behind him.

"Alright... Here ya go," he said softly to the sparkling as he handed her over to his creator.

"Thank you, 'Jack," Mirage said in reply and he shifted the femme in his arms.

Glazer cooed happily, the noble smiling down on her beautiful face. "Hi honey," he said, Hound lightly touching her smooth cheek plate with a servo. The sparkling flickered her gaze away from Mirage over to Hound, slowly stretching her servo and finally managed to grab onto the large digit.

The scout huffed out a big smile as the tiny gray servo clenched so weakly around his digit that he barely felt it. "I can't wait for the others to meet her," he said at last, Mirage smiling at the thought as well.

"I think we can page Prime whenever we're ready," he said, looking to Hound and nodding. Hound wiggled his digit gently out of Glazer's servo and pressed it to his audio receptor.

* * *

It didn't take long for the rec room to fill with most of the mechs on board. Some agreed they'd see her when they got back from a mission or recon, while others were still in recharge from hangovers.

Mirage didn't mind, though; he thought the less the better.

After a few more test runs Ratchet finally let them go with their sparkling. He and Hound thanked him again before they walked slowly down the empty hallway towards the rec room, mostly in silence. Mirage would look up at Hound from time to time, noticing how he was trying to hold back this huge smile about his own little sparkling femme.

"Shh," he heard them say right before they walked in. "They're coming!"

And the twins held each door open, the two creators being greeted by many smiles but quiet mechs. No one hesitated in running up to them, though, where Prowl eventually had to squeeze in to push them aside and give the family some room.

"It's okay, Prowl," Mirage said softly as everyone offered their booth seat for him and Hound, and just sat down at a random one. "I know they're excited..."

Bumblebee pushed his way through the crowd to get a better look. Mirage gently shifted the femme in his arms to allow the crowd a better view, softly bouncing her so she wouldn't fuss like she easily did. Claustrophobia was one of her unfortunate features.

Several gasps and "aw"s left the group of mechs standing before her. Mirage couldn't help but smile and turn to Hound, who was also smiling rather brightly as he looked at his little creation.

The minibot's face lit up at the beautiful faceplate in Mirage's hold. "_Primus_, she's perfect," someone said in the crowd. Cliffjumper squirmed his way next to Bumblebee, smiling brightly at the femme.

"Can I hold her?" Bumblebee asked after a long pause.

"Yeah," he answered quietly, cautiously picking up his sparkling and letting go as Bumblebee had a firm hold on her. Everyone shifted so they still had their optics on Glazer, wishing desperately that _they_ could hold her.

"Jeez, she's so _light_," he teased, the smile just growing wider by the klik. "And so pretty," he added.

"Thank you," he smiled.

"Can I hold her?" Sideswipe pitched.

"Can I hold her too?"

"What about me?"

"I wanna hold her..."

"Can I hold her Mirage?"

"Mechs, please," came a voice behind them, making them turn around. "Mirage will let you all have your turn eventually, just quiet bothering him. "

Optimus made his way through the crowd as they made room for him. He stopped a distance before Bumblebee, optics squinting as he smiled under his guard mask. "A fine job, you two," he said after a while, taking in the image of the first femme sparkling among the Autobots in however long.

"Thank you sir," Hound said quietly with another smile. "We tried."

A few chuckles floated through the crowd. The sparkling surprisingly made her way through three more mechs without fussing too much, as if she liked the attention.

Jazz had been watching from the back of the group with his arms crossed almost the whole time. Prowl stood next to him, happy that he wasn't acting too depressed lately, and was managing a peaceful smile.

"Prowl! Come see the sparkling!" Windcharger called towards the two. "You too Jazz! Come see!"

Prowl looked to Jazz, but the saboteur did nothing. The tactician walked towards the minibot holding the sparkling, surprised to see him offer her to him. "Um, okay," he said, not helping the smile forming across his faceplate. He gently took Glazer in his arms, fixing the blanket as he did so, remembering clearly the time he held his own little mech.

He turned back to Jazz, smiling slightly. He gestured with his helm for Jazz to come over there, the TIC slowly walking towards him as his small smile dropped. Prowl watched him as he neared, wondering if he would hold her.

So did everyone else.

He surprisingly felt no pressure, however, when every mech paused to see what Jazz would do. Everyone knew of his and Prowl's predicament, of course; Would he actually hold her? they wondered, as whispers floated around the room here and there.

He couldn't help but hear them. He already saw the sparkling, he thought over. He couldn't find it in himself to even glance at his friend over in the booth... the creator of this little femme. He looked at Prowl in the silence, remembering perfectly how Prowl had held one of their little sparklings _exactly_ like they way he was.

Prowl looked back up at Jazz.

"I... um..." he started after a long silence. He kept his optics on the femme and nothing else. Words couldn't describe how strange he felt... even _he_ couldn't describe it. Something between hurt and pain, and love and jealousy. More importantly, he wished he would quit being so selfish.

But he couldn't help himself; it was a _curse,_ like he'd said to Mirage.

"...I can't," he sighed, dropping his arms. "I'm sorry."

And with that he turned around and left.


	13. Already Captured

**Basis:** G1

**Pairings:** HoundxMirage, ProwlxJazz

{I love seeing Cliffy as a little spy;P ehe}

Action-y ending; it'll be better next chapter x)

* * *

Everyone continued watching the poor saboteur as he exited the stunned rec room.

Only the whimper of the sparkling brought them back.

Hound looked from the rec room doorway to Mirage. "It's okay... he just needs time to think," he said to everyone. Prowl looked back down at the sparkling and gave one last smile before he handed him to Blaster standing next to him.

"I'll go talk to him," he said, and left as Blaster cradled the femme.

"Poor mech," Tracks said softly as he watched the sparkling over Blaster's shoulder.

"I didn't know he still felt that way," Beachcomber added.

"Yeah... he's still pretty frazzled," Bumblebee helped inform.

"He's okay though. He just needs time to adjust to everything," Mirage spoke as Blaster handed Glazer to Tracks very slowly. "He'll pull through."

"She looks just like you, Mirage," Tracks said, unintentionally changing the subject. "But with more of Hound's helm."

Almost everyone giggled as they focused back on the sparkling. "He's right, 'Raj," Warpath let out. "It's like the perfect combination."

Mirage laughed very softly at the words. "Well thank you," he smiled.

Tracks was just about to hand the sparkling over to Powerglide when she started to show more exasperation. She settled down once Powerglide was holding her, gently bouncing her up and down and making her, along with a few others, giggle.

The sparkling starting whimpering again as he stopped when another mech asked him if he could hold her. Turning her helm in repentance, Mirage came to her rescue and announced maybe tomorrow they could hold her again.

Several sad faces appeared through the crowd. Powerglide gently handed Mirage his little femme, the noble fixing the blanket again as he got her comfortable in his arms. "Sorry mechs, I need to feed her," he said with a smile.

"That's alright," a few replied.

Hound slid around to the other side of the booth and stood up. "Excuse me, mechs," he said playfully as he walked towards the cooler behind the energon dispenser, pulling out a bottle from subspace and taking out the pitcher.

Few mechs paid him any mind as the scout poured the trans-energon from the pitcher into the bottle quickly but neatly. He returned the pitcher and walked back to Mirage, exchanging goodbyes as nearly all had to leave for their shifts for the cycle, and handed his bondmate the bottle.

"Thank you," the noble said softly as he put the bottle's tip up against Glazer's little lips. "Here you go," he said brightly, smiling as he fed his own little sparkling for the first time.

"Awww..." Bumblebee let out, so thankful that his shift didn't start until next cycle. "I've never seen a sparkling drink from a bottle before... it's so cute..."

"Really?"

Bumblebee shook his helm. "I've seen sparklings of course, but I was never around or new the creators much to watch the sparkling drink from a bottle. I've always wanted to, though... It's the most adorable thing I've ever seen!"

Mirage and Hound just chuckled. "Well I'm glad you finally get to see one," he replied lightly.

Glazer weakly brought her tiny servo up to Mirage's as he held the bottle, curling her digits around his. Beachcomber, who also didn't start a shift for two more cycles, laughed aloud at the action, smiling brightly the whole time and making the sparkling look up at him and do the same.

The energon gurgled out her mouth as she giggled at the dune buggy, drooling down her lips and chin. Hound and Mirage just laughed along with her as the noble took his digit and wiped away the energon, drawing her attention back on him.

"Don't choke," he teased, thankful the sparkling had simmered down and now relaxed in his hold, swallowing the energon less dangerously.

The four mechs stayed there for a while, watching the sweet sparkling being fed for the first real time. Glazer's optics started to go dull, brightening back up each time Mirage shifted her so she quit sliding, and then dulling down again.

"I think she's tired," Bumblebee said quietly.

"She's had a busy morning; it doesn't surprise me," Mirage replied. Glazer choked a little as Mirage gently removed the bottle from her wet lips, Hound taking the bottle so Mirage could pick her up and lay her stomach to his chassis, similar to a position of a human 'burping' the child.

"It's an action Carly told me about," he said in a whisper in response to Beachcomber's and Bumblebee's curious looks. "She said after you feed a baby, or sparkling, you need to get the excess air out that they swallowed."

They watched with interest as Mirage patted his servo lightly against the sparkling's backstrut, listening as she whined as he rested her helm and servos on the noble's shoulder. Suddenly she choked out an interesting noise, one that neither had heard in a long time but made them laugh.

"What an interesting maneuver..." Bumblebee chuckled.

Mirage carefully repositioned his sparkling so he cradled her in his arms again, still laughing softly. "I think she's ready to recharge," Hound said as they watched the femme coo with her optics offline.

"I think you're right," he said back.

"Well we better get going as well," Beachcomber said in his happy-go-lucky tone. "Thank you for letting us see your sparkling."

"You're welcome," he replied cheerfully. "Happy to do it."

Beachcomber dragged Bumblebee along as the spy definitely did not want to leave her. Hound and Mirage followed their exit shortly after, carrying their whimpering sparkling down the hall and receiving pleasant looks from the passing mechs.

Once they finally reached their quarters, Glazer was crying. Large tears ran down her small, tired faceplate as Mirage bounced her up and down, soothing her, showing her such love and compassion like he'd been a creator all his lifestream. Hound watched him, smiling, getting another blanket out that Ratchet had given him and bedding the metal crib with it.

After a while Mirage finally got the femme to settle down, reducing the crying to hiccup-y gasps as she whimpered softly in his warm embrace. She was nearly offline as Mirage walked into the back room, slowly lowering her into the crib and fixing the blanket again so she wasn't freezing.

"There," he whispered after he made sure she wouldn't start crying again. "I think she's okay."

Hound merely smiled at his recharging sparkling. "You did good today," he whispered.

"Thanks," he replied quietly, smiling as they left the back room. "I'm glad you were there to help me, though... _Primus,_ she could have had a cycling attack with all those mechs..."

"Well the antidote helped a little... her risks for an attack are very low."

"I know... But I still worry."

Hound stopped him as they entered the middle of the main section of their quarters, rubbing his servos on either side of the noble's upper arms. "You're just being protective, 'Raj," he said happily. "Any new creator would do the same."

Mirage smiled as Hound leaned down and kissed him on the lips, feeling those cool, passionate lips intermingle with his own. "I know," he said softly after he eventually pulled away. "Thank you."

* * *

Prowl had searched the whole Ark for _cycles_ for Jazz. He even missed two shifts... but that didn't matter to him at the time.

He'd already checked their quarters. Four times. He checked the wash racks and storage rooms multiple times... the rec room, med bay, _air ducts,_ everywhere.

No Jazz.

He decided he'd check outside one last time before giving up and letting the saboteur come back to their quarters eventually. He was probably out for a drive... a long drive, that Prowl knew Jazz sometimes took if he felt sad or depressed.

It still didn't hurt to check the area.

As he started outside the entrance, he noticed far in the distance a Porsche hitting at least 100 mph, transform, and continue running.

The mech kept running. Prowl had no idea where... it was just desert out there. The city was the opposite direction. He stopped in the Ark entrance and just watched the saboteur run... faster than when he was driving. Prowl still didn't understand his bondmate's love for running; he remembered the morning when he online and Jazz wouldn't there in the berth, but outside _running_ for cycles on end until morning appeared. He couldn't remember when he stopped... or even _if_ he stopped. Maybe he sneaked out in the middle of the night, and came back to the berth before Prowl onlined.

Jazz eventually stopped just before he disappeared out of the Ark's view. He just stood there, in the desert's hot afternoon sun, no doubt sweat pouring from his depressed faceplate. Prowl watched him, from a distance, noticing how he bent over to prop himself up on his thighs.

Prowl slowly started walking again towards the saboteur. He watched him sit down on the desert floor with his back away from the Ark, barely hearing him pant as he neared him.

"Jazz..." he said, quietly, the TIC jumping but not turning to see who it was.

He knew who it was.

Prowl sat down next to his lover. They sat there for a long moment, in silence, Prowl's doorwings twitching and swaying as they adjusted to not overheat. Jazz said nothing; he just stared off in the distance, at the trees scattered here and there far out, Prowl doing the same as he waiting for the right moment to speak.

After a while he did. "Jazz... "

"...I'm sorry," he interrupted him.

"...For what."

Jazz turned his helm, ignoring how sweat dripped from his forehelm down his cheekplates and chin and surrounded his optics. "...For... leaving, I guess. For being so... selfish..."

"Jazz," he said again as he turned his whole body to face the saboteur's. "Jazz, you're not selfish, baby. Everyone knows how you feel... Mirage especially. It's nothing to be ashamed of."

"Yes it is," he declared as he brought his optics up to Prowl's. "How do think it feels? Hm? To see you holding that sparkling... You looked so _happy... Primus, _you looked like a creator again."

"Listen to me," he said, wiping the sweat off his forehelm as he stroked it with his thumb. "We will _always_ be creators, Jazz. That'll never change. Even if they're not here with us any more... they're in a better place now. Out of their misery."

_*Oh Primus,*_ he thought at the words. The same words Mirage had told him.

"How do you think _I_ feel, Jazz? Those sparklings were just as much a part of me as they were of you. That was _my_ data that they sucked right out of me... when they died, it was like a small part of me died too."

Jazz flickered his gaze back down to the desert floor. "I know..." he said softly.

"I know you're hurting, Jazz. Believe me. I am too. Even if I don't show it... it's eating away at me inside... and seeing you like this is just making it worse."

"Really?" he asked as he looked back up, just to see Prowl nod as his lips quivered into a smile.

"Yeah, Jazz, it is." He inhaled deeply as not to tear up, knowing it would only make Jazz more upset. "But I still have the memories," he went on, touching his lover's lips ever so softly. "And so do you."

"It's the memories that cause me _pain,_ Prowler."

"No, Jazz. It's the memories you're tying in with Mirage's sparkling that's giving you pain. You're focusing on the _bad_ memories. I love seeing you laugh when you think about or talk about them, like how Spinner would twirl his fingers, like this," he soothed, mocking his sparkling's digit and making Jazz chuckle as he sniffled.

"I guess you're right," he said after a while.

"I know you're proud of Mirage. And I want you to not think about the bad memories... it's unhealthy. Think about the good memories... alright?"

Jazz nodded weakly. "Alright," he said quietly, smiling as Prowl kissed him on the lips again. He helped him stand up on his pedes, the two walking slowly back to the Ark as Prowl playfully held his servo, making Jazz finally smile like he was back to his normal self.

* * *

That night Mirage had the sparkling in the rec room again, feeding her as everyone watched, whispering and giggling amongst themselves.

Glazer cooed as she drank the bottle clean, gurgling as Mirage 'burped' her once more, making every mech just giggle some more.

"She really is the cutest thing I have ever seen," Bumblebee told him. "Makes me want one..."

"Why don't you, Bee?" Sunstreaker teased, Sideswipe gripping his arm and throwing him on another table, rubbing his panel against the minibot's as he mocked interfacing.

"Ugh... stop it," he gasped, pushing the Lambo off as most of the mechs laughed. Bumblebee couldn't help a smile once he got them to leave him alone.

"Still hyped up on highgrade?" Mirage asked, earning a slurred "NO!" from the twins.

Just then several mechs announced they had to leave for either their last shift or nightly shift. They said their goodbyes to both Mirage and the sparkling, exiting the rec room.

"Where is Hound, anyway?" Trailbreaker asked after a while.

"He and Cliff had a scouting mission earlier... he should be back soon."

"Two days after the sparkling's here and he has to leave?"

"Optimus said it was mandatory... He needed either him or Jazz, and he figured Hound would be much better since he wasn't acting so strange and the mission was much shorter than usual."

"Ah... I see," he said. "Well I better get goin'; got recon in a cycle, then gotta get up early for stealth. See ya in the mornin', 'Raj."

"Goodnight Trailbreaker," he replied with a smile.

* * *

_**Nemesis Grounds**_

"Cliffjumper... come in..."

Static.

"Cliff!" he whispered harshly. This was not good... he'd been waiting for over two cycles more than intended to receive the information they needed.

The minibot had been cut off while in the middle of reporting what he saw just kliks ago. Hound then heard a sharp grinding noise, followed by shouting... He didn't even want to think what was happening...

Just then a voice cleared, breaking up in Hound's audiopiece. "Hound..." he heard through weak panting vocals. "H-"

"If you wish to have your _scout_ back, I advise a meeting with you, on some... _valuable_ information," came a sudden cold, rough voice, followed by chuckling and a crushing noise.

_*Megatron.*_ It was no doubt the warlord's vocals that had taken over Cliffjumper's recorder, let alone captured the spy.

"Primus, dammit..." he mumbled as he retreated from his hideout and ran towards the Nemesis. How on _Cybertron_ did Cliff manage to get captured...? He was one of their best spies!

He dove in the water and hit the Decepticon hideout within a matter of nanokliks. He transformed his servo into his blow torch, the force eating away at the metal and cutting him a passageway inside. He slid in with ease, jumping down and rolling across the dark room floor, squatting as he ducked behind a stack of crates.

*Must be a storage room,* he though, adjusting his optics to dull in the darkness yet still see where he was. Crates and metal pipes lined the walls and the whole room reeked of burnt metal... Storage room for sure, he figured. Lucky for him, no Decepticons.

He detached his missile rocket and aimed it towards the darkness ahead of him as he stood up and walked. He slowly creeped around the corner into the lighted hallway. He was just about to step pede in the hallway when Rumble strode past the end corridor, Hound jumping back into the darkness and hiding, knocking over a crate lid as he did so.

Rumble stopped and backtracked his steps, peering down the hallway where he thought he heard something...

Hound accidentally kicked another severed pipe as he peered around to see if Rumble had left. He stayed in his position, praying that he had left already...

Rumble added more curiosity to his look and started down the hall towards the storage room. Hound's spark started thumping so loud he was sure Rumble could hear it... He heard the small pedesteps near the storage room, and looked around desperately for somewhere to hide, _fast._

"Rumble!" called a voice from the opposite end. "Starscream's looking for you!"

Hound exvented in relief as Rumble retreated, feeling his spark pulsing back to normal. He checked the hallway once more and spotted no 'Cons, stepping out and running down the length of metal. He dodged and missed a Minor's view just in time, landing in someone's quarters.

"Cliff..." he tried once more as he caught his breath. No answer. Not even static. He sighed, heading back out into the hallway as he looked for more Deceptions.

He mainly wished he could find him and return to base for Mirage's sake... he figured the mech was worried sick, which did not help the situation of having to care for their sparkling by himself.

He passed another corner. He actually started to wonder where everyone was... discussing, possibly? Great, he thought. We could be recording this information if Cliff hadn't gotten captured... Or possibly beating the little Autobot up? Killing him? Oh Primus... He started to walk fast, yet still cautiously.

"He's unconscious for now! Leave him!" a voice echoed in a harsh whisper from around the next corner. He stopped and poked his optics around the ledge, spotting Skywarp and Thrust arguing with each other.

Just then another voice shouted down the hallway, making Hound jump and kick the wall, tripping into the hallway's view of the two Seekers.

"_Shit..._" he whispered, knowing he'd been caught.

Was it really that simple?

He felt so dumb.

He wondered if Cliffjumper had been just as easily caught...

"Hey!" he shouted, ignoring their own argument and walking towards the scout. "Autobot!"

Another alarm sounded throughout the whole base. Just before Skywarp reached out to grab him, Hound turned around a shot at him just as Thrust did the same in defense.

Hound missed his take, the bullet only scraping his shoulder. Skywarp wasn't so lucky... Thrust watched him lay unconscious on the ground next to him, looking to Hound as the alarm rang furiously and pedesteps approached harder and quicker down the hallway. The Seeker huffed at the scout, optics glowing their fierce red as he lunged for Hound.

The leap caught Hound off guard; he fell to the ground as Thrust tackled him, the scout shooting his launcher whenever and wherever he could, hitting the ceiling and walls and making metal and water crash on top of them. He struggled to push the 'Con off, writhing as he had both servos wrapped around his neck, suffocating him.

"S..Stop..." he rasped, gasping as Thrust just laughed.

"Why would I do that?"

"Meg - Megatron! Want..ed... to s- see me..." he choked out the stretched truth, optics tearing up as he fought so weakly to push the Seeker off his vocals.

Skywarp's smile dropped as Megatron shouted his name. "Get off him!" he yelled, striding towards the two as everyone else reached them.

Skywarp looked back down as he let go of Hound's vocals, the scout gasping in relief as Soundwave whipped him up on his pedes.

"Autobot," the warlord smirked, stepping so close to the scout that he started to back away, only to run into Starscream. "Come here, cretin," he said, reaching out and grabbing his helm with one servo and bringing him back to him, Starscream kicking the back of his knees so he fell to the ground.

"As you know," he started slyly, scraping his digit along the understand of Hound's jaw, making him gasp in pain. "...It was not you're _wisest_ decision to come aboard my ship... Tell me why you're here."

Hound just looked at the leader, quietly choking as Megatron continued up his jaw.

"To rescue your pathetic minion? The one whom I have captured from merely running through my halls?"

Hound cursed mentally at the thought. He was gonna kill that minibot... unless Megatron beat him to it.

"You... wanted... information..." he panted, gritting his denta as Megatron finally removed his digit. "About... what?"

"Ah! Information... yes! Thank you, scout, for reminding me. You see, you Autobots have been rather quiet lately," Megatron explained, grabbing Hound's jaw and turning in to make sure he was paying attention. "I noticed how you executed one of _my_ best spies in the process of gathering your sweet _information_."

Hound huffed as Megatron let his helm go, dangling to the floor. "However, we _were_ able to retrieve _some_ information..."_  
_

Hound looked back up with wide optics.

"Just a few simple words from my favorite opponent were all that was needed... _'We have an expectant'._"

Hound sat in the silence, staring up at Megatron with fearful, wide optics. He then started to _laugh_ wearily, making everyone scowl at the scout.

He stopped laughing as Megatron took a firm hold of his jaw again. "Tell me what is so funny, _scout,"_ he demanded.

"Just..." he grunted, squirming, only to have Megatron grip him harder as he leaned down more into his faceplate. "Just... a- a sparkling? Is that what you think? A sp- sparkling... _please,_ how absurd..."

"Do not insult me, Autobot!" he said, pulling his servo away and giving him a nice, hard smack across the cheek plate. "What else should I go by?"

"I don't know, I wasn't there..." he lied, panting. "But I assure y- you, no sparkling..."

Megatron kept his scowl and stare for a long time. "Tell me the truth, scout," he whispered so creepily right into his audio that it sent shivers down his backstrut. "And I advise you not _lie again_, for your friend is not dead, but soon will be..."

With that he snatched a mini monitor out of Soundwave's servo and turned it on in front of Hound's faceplate. "See this? This is your comrade, defenseless in his own little brig cell. This is _live,_ scout... what you're seeing is happening this very instant."

Hound flickered his optics down to the screen, watching the fresh energon seep out of deep, painful gashes across Cliffjumper's chassis, and dripping from his cut arms that hung above his helm. "I've let them do _anything_ they want to the spy..." he heard through husky vocals, watching with horror as he understand what he meant. Cliffjumper's interfacing panel was clicked open, his spike fully emerged and dripping with both energon and transfluid, along with his abused valve.

He tried to turn his helm away in disgust, only to have the leader force it back to the monitor. The 'Con, whom Hound couldn't make out with the blurry camera and his weak optics, stood in front of the bounded minibot, Hound watching as his erect spike shot out and penetrated Cliff's poor valve once more, thrusting hard. He heard the same screams of pain and fear echo down the hallway as from the video footage.

"Stop it!" Hound shouted, Megatron just laughing and handing the screen back to Soundwave. "Please... stop hurting him..."

"Then tell me the truth!" he laughed aloud. "Is there a new little Autobot amongst your team?"

Hound said nothing as he panted, looking up at Megatron as he gripped his jaw once more in force. After a while Megatron just laughed again, standing up and slapping him hard across the same cheek plate just for the fun of it, leaving a bright red mark and several gashes bleeding energon from where his digits cut him.

Hound panted harder as he recovered from the burst of pain. He would have brought his servo up to it if someone hadn't snapped the handcuffs on his wrists behind him.

"I will take that as a yes," Megatron chuckled, his underlings smiling. "An actual _Autobot_ sparkling, after _all these years_... Who would have thought! And I wonder why you were being so defensive, scout..."

Hound whimpered to himself as Megatron held up his helm with a digit once again. "Could it be to simply protect his own team? The creators? Himself?"

Hound gulped as he tried to swallow the sweat forming all over him. Megatron leaned in closer, smiling widely as he spoke softly. "Are _you_ the creator?"

Again he said nothing. He just panted through his nasal ridge, whimpering from time to time on his painful jaw.

Megatron chuckled deviously once more. "You're too easy, scout," he said, watching his wide and fearful optics with his own. "Take him to the brig."


	14. Rain in the Desert

**Basis:** G1

**Pairings:** ~nada~ ^.^

* * *

Rain. Pouring, with thunder and lightning. In the desert.

_*Spike was right*,_ Mirage thought. _*Global Warming really is affecting the Earth.*_

That didn't matter to him now though. Where was Hound? He was supposed to be back four cycles ago... Mirage was really starting to worry. He already talked to Optimus about it; they of course tried every way possible to reach their scout.

No answer, every time.

_"I'm sure he's fine, Mirage. The rain is probably just interfering with his comm. link."_

_"Yeah... I guess,"_ he'd say, knowing inside they were just saying things to get him to not worry.

How could he not worry?

They'd found his life signal, alive and ticking, near the Decepticon base two cycles ago. Right where he was supposed to be. Optimus sent out several mechs his and Cliffjumper's way as a search-and-rescue mission if needed. But if they still had his life signal, it could be very well just the rain interference, they thought.

Mirage stood in the entrance of the Ark as he looked out into the raining blackness, continuously wondering if Hound was alright. He gently swayed back and forth as he held his sparkling, Glazer cooing peacefully from time to time in her creator's warm embrace.

He looked down at her as she started to whine, softly stroking her helm. "It'll be okay, honey," he said soothingly, smiling at her. "Hound will be back soon." The thunder only made her whimper again, choking as a sign of starting to cry.

Mirage held her close, shushing her comfortingly as she broke out in tears after the continuous lightning flashes. He gently bounced on his pedes up and down, rocking her, backing away from the entrance a little as she calmed down and weakly clenched her servos, barely touching his chassis.

"Don't cry, honey, you're alright," he whispered to her, swaying her slightly. "You're okay, it's just rain."

He returned to the entrance after a while when she was back to her peaceful self, holding her lovingly, knowing she was mainly tired and probably hungry again.

"Mirage!" he heard from the rec room behind him, turning around and seeing Trailbreaker, the twins, Blaster, and Tracks all sitting at a booth playing some card game with what looked like strong highgrade by their servos. Blaster gestured with his helm for the noble to come sit with them, waving the hand of cards soberly.

Mirage looked back at the entrance, wishing Hound would pop up in the darkness but knowing he wouldn't. He turned back, giving once last glance before smiling down at his sparkling again, walking slowly towards the five in the rec room.

"Hey, 'Raj," they greeted, Trailbreaker and Tracks scooting over to make room for the noble and the sparkling.

"Hello," he sighed, shifting Glazer in his arms and adjusting her blanket.

"'Grade?" Blaster offered him. "Sideswipe actually made it pretty good this time."

Sideswipe reached over his twin to smack the boombox upside the helm. "Thanks," he mumbled.

"No problem."

"No, I'm good guys, thanks..."

Mirage tried to figure out what game they were playing as Tracks set a card down on top of Sunstreaker's. "What about the sparkling? Would she like some?" the corvette joked.

Everyone giggled, about half of them drunken. "I think she'll pass," Mirage teased back.

"Hey, cheer up, Mirage," Blaster spoke up after the noble went back to quietly stroking the sparkling. "Hound'll be back soon... Prime's mission team should report first thing in the mornin'."

"I know... I just have to worry all night, and Glazer's already upset."

Suddenly everyone except Trailbreaker peered over to look at the sweet little femme still cooing with dull optics. "I heard her cryin' a couple times, but maybe she's just tired."

"Yeah, she is, I'm going to put her down in a klik or so... I'm trying to wait to the last minute for word from Hound..."

"Don't worry, 'Raj," Sunstreaker spoke. "If something was wrong, his signal would be all jumpy and broken."

"...I know..."

Mirage ignored the laughter and shouting returning to the five mechs as he thought more about Hound. "Hey, hey!" he heard someone call. "Glazer's offline! Shut up!"

Mirage slightly smiled as he looked down again. Glazer's small lips were slightly parted as her optics were dull and flickered down, cycling chokey breaths here and there as the noble stroked her into recharge to get her to not be as upset.

"That's alright," he said to whoever tried to defend the tired sparkling. "I'm gonna go... She needs recharge."

They shared their goodbyes as Mirage stood up and left the rec room, the sparkling crying once again as she was jerked out of her peaceful state.

* * *

**Day 10**_**  
**_

_**Nemesis Grounds**_

Hound wearily trudged through the cold, dark hallways as Dirge and Thundercracker shoved him forward. "Keep walking," they shouted at him as he turned to look into each passing brig cell, hoping unsuccessfully to find his partner.

They reached the end of the hallway, and still no Cliffjumper. Hound then found himself thrown into an empty cell, hitting the metal flooring hard. He immediately tried to sit up, struggling with his servos still handcuffed behind him as the two Seekers locked the gate and left, laughing.

Hound slowly turned his panting into normal cycling breaths, offlining his optics as he thumped his helm against the wall. He immediately thought about Mirage... his sparkling, that he'd left alone back at base due to his and Cliff's stupidity...

He pressed his lips together as he thought about them. He would get out of here, he knew. He would see them again.

After a long moment of dark silence, Hound heard a clanging across the hall. He onlined, ready to fight as defenseless as he was, adjusting his optics to see more clearly in the open darkness.

His scowl merely flipped to a smile, however, when a small red figure glared back at him with dull blue optics.

"Cliff!" he whispered, crawling over to the metal bars. "Are you okay?"

Hound could barely hear the spy panting over in his own brig cell. He saw him nod very slightly, not moving but trying his hardest to focus on the scout.

"It'll be okay, Cliff," he said, hearing his whimper as he shifted. "I know what they did... are you still bleeding? Excessively?"

Cliffjumper slowly looked down at himself, straining, shaking his helm at the scout. "No..." he rasped.

"Good..." he said to himself. "That's good... Do you still have your comm. link?"

"No... Megatron... *grunt* destroyed it..."

Hound sighed as he sat back against the wall and tried using his shoulder to press his own comm. link. "This is... Hound... C-Come in, please," he rasped, vocals a little weak from Megatron's grasps.

...

Back outside, Optimus and his mission team were nearing the Nemesis. They'd discovered Hound's and Cliffjumper's life signals had grown weaker, their spy's especially.

Optimus ordered everyone to stop as the scout's voice cracked statically in his audio.

"Hound!" he exclaimed. "Are you alright? Where are you?"

"We're okay," he hoarsed. "Cliffjumper and I have been help captive... he's far worse than I am, Prime. He needs Ratchet."

Luckily Ratchet had been one of the few mechs Optimus had chosen to come along on their 'search-and-rescue'. "How bad is he, Hound?"

"Uhm... well, his chassis has some deep gashes, he's almost bled to death in some areas, his arms are severely cut..."

Suddenly Hound quit talking. Ratchet transformed the same time Optimus did, wondering what was happening. "Hound?" Ratchet pressed to his comm. link. "Hound, what's wrong?"

"Hound, come in..."

"Oh, Primus..." they heard him whisper with such fear that is sent chills down their own backstruts.

"What? Hound, what is it?" Ratchet chirped.

"It's... Cliff..."

"What _about_ Cliff? Is he okay?"

"He... his arm... He doesn't have an arm..."

At that point everyone transformed and froze with shock. "What do you _mean_ he doesn't have an arm?"

"I- It's gone! I- It's... just a bare socket... I can make out energon still oozing out of it..."

Ratchet huffed as he pressed into his optics with his digits. "Alright... is he complaining of any pain?"

Hound flickered his wide gaze from Cliffjumper's bare shoulder socket back up to the spy's tired faceplate. Cliffjumper shook his helm, hearing their comm. link through the cells.

"No, he said no..."

Ratchet swore under his breath. "Alright, try to keep him online. Whatever you do, do NOT let him offline, or he more than likely won't come back to us. He's lost so much energon in his most vital places that he's probably numb; he's very weak..."

"Well th-that's not all," Hound spoke weakly himself. "He's been... his spike is still cut up, and I saw myself how some of them raped him, continuously..."

Swearing more colorfully, Ratchet transformed and drove off towards the Nemesis. "Alright, Hound, we're on our way," Optimus said before he cut the line.

* * *

"Hey, Mirage," Jazz greeted softly as he strolled into the rec room.

"Hi, Jazz."

Jazz sat down across from the mech, watching as the little femme slurped at her bottle quietly. "How is she?" he asked.

"She's good," he replied. "I got her to settle down last night around 0200 hours after waiting for Hound... She kept crying in the middle of the night, so I basically just sat up with her, dozing off myself whenever she wasn't crying."

"Oh, I'm sorry about that..."

"It's alright... I couldn't recharge anyway worrying about Hound. Have you heard anything?"

Jazz shook his helm. "I know they reached their base at dawn this morning, and I think they got a hold o' Hound - "

"Well what did he say?"

"I don't know, Mirage. I'm not a part o' the mission."

Mirage sighed as he looked down at the sparkling again, shifting as she almost finished her bottle. "I know, I'm sorry... I'm just worried."

"Well I know that he's okay. Cliffjumper might be a little fried, but he's alive for the most part."

Mirage slowly took the bottle away as Glazer sucked out the last drop.

"But hey," Jazz went on after a moment. "I found something you might like ta' have." He pulled out a toy from his subspace compartment, smiling slightly as he turned it over in his servos and handed it over the noble.

"I found it in my drawer," he whispered as Mirage took it in his own servos, examining it as Glazer giggled in his arms. "I think Spinner played with it... I can't find Site's."

Glazer was already practically reaching out her tiny servos for the rattle. Mirage shook it once, smiling as he teased it in front of Glazer's faceplate, making his little femme giggle even harder. "Well, thank you Jazz. I love it."

Jazz said nothing as he watched the femme play with the blue metal rattle. He tried to do what Prowl told him: think of happy memories... like how the same rattle made his own little mech giggle like that. Mirage watched her as she shook the rattle, using her weak little servos to grab onto something for the first time. She really didn't so much; she held it, moving it from there to there, smiling as she heard the little metal beads shake within it.

"I thought it would keep her happy... occupied for sure," he said.

The two stayed silent for a while, watching the sparkling's attention focus only on this blue thing in her servo that made noise.

"So have you thought about what I told you?" Mirage broke the long silence.

"Hm?"

"When we were talking in your quarters... Have you thought about what I said?"

"...About trust..."

"About _why_ I asked if you trusted me."

Jazz focused his visor on the noble, remembering their conversation. "Oh... Of course I have, 'Raj... 'course I have," he said quietly.

"Jazz, I know it pains you to think about this... but think about what I've told you..."

"What about what _I've_ told _you?_ I don't want a sparkling if... What if I just want to abuse it...?"

"Jazz, you know you're stronger than that. That's just fear taking over your processor. I know you want another sparkling... I know you'll care for him and love him just like you did your twins."

Jazz sighed aloud as propped his helm up with his servo. "I'm too scared, 'Raj... What if something happens to them again...? I couldn't live with myself," he eventually whispered.

"Then that's a chance you have to be willing to take."

Jazz looked up again, then back down to the sparkling. "I take it that's what you mean by trust?"

Mirage simply smiled as Glazer cooed, gnawing on the handle.

Jazz huffed again. "I dunno, Mirage... it's a big step for me..."

"I know. I'm not forcing you to do anything. I'm just trying to help."

Jazz smiled as he announced he had a shift, Glazer giggling again as he left.

* * *

_**Nemesis Grounds**_

Hound had successfully given Optimus a clear description of where his and Cliffjumper's brig cells were located. Bumblebee, Ironhide, and Optimus himself made their way underwater around the base, until they had both their life signals directly under them.

Ratchet and Smokescreen waited on land for when the three returned with Hound and Cliffjumper, setting up sensors to check for any Decepticons in their surrounding area.

"Alright Hound," Ironhide spoke up through his comm. link once they were inside the base. "We picked up your signal..."

"Well be careful," he responded. "I got caught by simply kicking the wall... Those Seekers are everywhere."

He faintly heard Bumblebee and Ironhide snicker through the link, ignoring it and focusing back on Cliffjumper. "You awake little buddy?"

He weakly nodded a single nod, optics so dull you'd think he _was_ offline.

Optimus took the lead as they sneaked around the hallways. "Watch your step," he warned with a whisper, pointing at more severed pipes along the flooring.

The three carefully worked their way around the corners, thankfully not running into any 'Cons.

Until Megatron made Optimus jump out of his frame, that is.

"Optimus!" he chuckled. "What a pleasure seeing you here! Tell me, what brings you and your posse to my ship?"

"Out of my way, Megatron..." he scowled, transforming his servo into his glowing axe.

"And why would I do that?" he laughed louder. "So you can rescue your own feeble underlings? I'm afraid - "

Megatron paused as he looked over Optimus' shoulder towards his minions, only to see they weren't there. "Where did they go?" he shouted, turning his helm just in time as Optimus punched him in the faceplate, the warlord falling to the ground.

As Megatron got back on his pedes, he lunged for Optimus, the two tackling each other as Ironhide and Bumblebee ran the back way towards Hound's signal.

"We're almost there, Hound," Bumblebee called. "We had a slight situation... how's Cliffjumper?"

"He's okay... What happened?"

"We'll explain once we get there."

Just then a shot was fired behind him, Ironhide ducking just in time to miss it. He lunged for Bumblebee as Dirge fired again, knocking them both out of the way as they turned the last corner.

"Hound!" Ironhide called as Bumblebee got back on his pedes and followed.

"We're at the end!" he called back, making sure Cliffjumper was still online.

Of course he wasn't.

"Ughhh..." he made out nervously, yelling at them to run faster.

"We _are!_ Dirge is right behind us!"

At last they reached the cells, Bumblebee seeing the keys on a hook and unlocking Hound's as Ironhide unlocked Cliffjumper's. Bumblebee unlatched the handcuffs and helped him to his pedes, _fast,_ Ironhide picking up the offlined spy and slinging him over his shoulder.

"Watch out!" Bumblebee called, everyone ducking as Dirge, and Starscream, unleashed rapid fire upon them.

...

Optimus grunted as he struggled out of Megatron's helmlock. He eventually managed to flip and kick his backstrut, tumbling them both to the ground and causing Megatron to shoot the ceiling, making more debris and water poor down inside after they'd just patched up the last hole.

Optimus tackled Megatron off guard, pinning him against the wall, bringing up his axe to stab his chassis when Megatron helm-butted him _hard._

The semi fell backwards, Megatron aiming his missile launcher at the Autobot leader, only to have Optimus flip over and roll on the floor as he dodged another hit.

...

Ironhide cried out as several bullets caught him in the shoulder and arm as he raised his liquid nitrogen launcher at the two Seekers. Bumblebee and Hound ducked as the white liquid covered the whole hallway, freezing the two jets in the act as it covered them from helm to pede.

Panting slightly, Ironhide stood up, slinging Cliffjumper back over his shoulder. Bumblebee slowly stood up, helping Hound, making sure he was alright.

Ironhide suddenly keened as his knees gave way, catching himself before he collapsed on the ground. He regained his balance on his wobbly pedes, checking everyone to make sure they were alright.

"Are we all okay?"

Bumblebee and Hound nodded. "I think so..." the scout said quietly.

"Then let's get outta here... Ratchet's waiting for us up top."

The three made their way fast through the hallways, searching for Optimus so they could get back before Cliffjumper permanently went offline. It didn't take long to hear the shouting and clanging of metal on metal, let alone the missile shots.

Hound offered to take Cliffjumper, weakly slinging him over his shoulder and leading Bumblebee back the way he came the joor before. Ironhide crept around the corner, thankful Megatron had his back to him while Optimus surprisingly caught his optic.

He waved for him to come on, knowing he couldn't. He ducked when he flipped Megatron's rifle that shot at the corner, using the action to pounce the warlord so Optimus would have a clear shot.

"This was a one-on-one battle, Optimus!" he shouted, struggling out of Ironhide's strong grip. "If I wanted, I could have called in my mechs, and you would've been dead already!"

"Then it looks like I win," he said coolly, aiming his weapon, and was just about to fire when Megatron made one last jerk and freed himself, shooting his launcher right at Optimus as the semi took his axe and knocked the aim out of his servos.

The missile hit the corner between the ceiling and the wall, water gushing in at contact and filling the hallway. Megatron pushed Ironhide to the ground just as the warrior was about to leap on him again, Optimus ducking his punch, kicking him in the groin and throwing him to the wet wall.

Optimus grabbed Ironhide's servo and pulled him up as he ran, the warrior stumblingly following him as they waded through the halls.

"Where are the others?" he called as he shot at two more Seekers heading their way, alarms blaring through the entire base.

"Hound led them back his way up top."

Optimus led them back to where the mission team had entered, helping Ironhide up through the shafts, then himself. Ironhide pushed himself out the Nemesis into the cold water, Optimus right behind him as they swam up to land to meet the others.

The two surprisingly weren't far behind the other three, as they had to run to the other end of the Nemesis to exit and then swim around the entire base to get to Ratchet.

Ratchet ran straight to Hound as they trudged up onto the shore. "He's offline," Hound gurgled weakly as he set him down on the grass. "I can't get him back online..."

Ratchet just huffed as he worked away on his circuitry. After a while he sighed in relief as he maintained his equilibrium chips from his damaged CPU and got him stabilized, knowing he was online and cycling but just unconscious.

"I think he'll be okay," he said as Optimus and Ironhide ran up. He examined his armless socket, energon still bleeding out of the torn seems and exposed wires, running his digits finely across the rim. "Wheeljack and I can fix him up."

Ironhide soon broke the silence as he noticed Bumblebee wasn't there. "Um, where is Bumblebee?"

Everyone looked at him, looking around to tell him "he's right there!". But the yellow spy was nowhere in sight.

Ratchet stood up to scan the whole perimeter.

"Maybe he's still inside?" Smokescreen offered.

"No, he was right behind us when we left," Hound replied.

Optimus turned around, scanning the water, giving a second take as he spotted bubbled emerging from the water. Without word he jumped in the water towards the bubbles.

He did not, however, plan on rescuing Rumble.

Rumble had Bumblebee's pede, pulling him down further into the water as the minibot kicked wildly and struggled to swim upwards. Optimus shot a missile towards the 'Con, finally getting him to let go, giving Bumblebee just enough time to swim upwards for Optimus to wrap his arms around his midriff and pull him up.

He fired again as Rumble shot towards them, forcing the minicon down under the current as he swam up with Bumblebee in his arms.

Optimus ran out of the water with Bumblebee laying in both servos. He gently lowered him down on the grass as Ratchet ran over to him, the leader and medic sitting him up as he coughed up the excess unfiltered water in his cycling chambers.

"Are you alright?" Ratchet asked him, receiving a strained nod and more water out his mouth.

Ratchet sighed wearily and returned to Cliffjumper, examining his abused valve and spike, gently touching the cut marks and determining if it was still useable. He ever so slightly put little pressure on the recess guards and retracted the small spike, working the panel out of its forced position and closing it.

"Let's get them back to med bay," he said, standing up and transforming as the fit the little spy in his ambulance form, Bumblebee being transported in Optimus' trailer.


	15. That Good Feeling

**Basis:** G1

**Pairings: **HoundxMirage, ProwlxJazz, (small RatchetxIronhide)

IT'S WHAT WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR.

_The_ epic P&J moment!

yay!

(goin' camping for the weekend with friends, so I dunno when I'll work on my next chapters. Sometime in the middle of next week, I'd say. sorreee.)

hope ya like!

* * *

"I said I'm _fine."_

"I heard you, Bee," Ratchet replied. "But I'm still just gonna run basic tests. Relax, for Primus' sake."

Bumblebee huffed again as Ratchet ran his hopefully last test on the minibot's circuits. He'd already removed two bullets from his neck and shoulder, and rechecked his vital statistics multiple times.

"What about Ironhide?" he asked. "He's far worse than I am... and Cliffjumper. And Hound."

"I'm fixing my least problem first so I can focus on them."

After another few kliks of annoying beeping of monitors, Ratchet finally announced he was done. "There," he said at last. "You're done. Now - "

"Thanks Ratch!" he yelled as he jumped off the berth and ran out the med bay. _Primus,_ he hated it in there...

"No shifts until tomorrow!" he shouted after him, doubting the stubborn minibot even heard him. He sighed again to himself as he made his way to the still-unconscious Cliffjumper, checking the monitors and redownloading defense barriers as he pumped more energon through his body.

Hound was still in stasis as Ratchet checked him next. The medic had put him in stasis lock simply so he could recharge and have his automatic healing nodes work on the injuries he'd taken. He gently brushed his digits over the three gashes in his cheek plate, knowing he'd have to buff those out along with the other dents and cut.

"Alright, 'Hide," he said quietly as he walked over to him. "How ya doin'?"

"I'm alright," he replied. "Mah shoulder still hurts like the pit, but I'm okay."

Ratchet smiled as he placed two cold servos on either side of his helm, very slowly leaning down as kissing his helm. "I'm glad," he whispered, Ironhide smiling back.

"I honestly don't know what I'd do without you, 'Hide," he eventually spoke as he deactivated his pain receptors and worked on removing the first bullet. "If you would've died..."

"You would have found another mech, Ratch. One that loves you as much as I do."

"At my old age?"

"You're not old. But sure."

"I don't think that's possible, Ironhide. I'd have to go with one of the mechs on board, or else live on the barely-existing Cybertron. And you're the only one that would love me as much as you do, let alone not feel awkward if I just came up to you and asked to bond to me."

Ironhide chuckled softly. "Or pound you into oblivion they way you like it," he added.

"Exactly," he smirked. He wedged the first bullet out and placed it on a metal tray, starting on the second one.

"Well I'll make up you're worrying tonight," he replied slyly. _"All_ night, if ya want."

Ratchet just chuckled as he laid the second bullet on the tray, digging out the third.

* * *

Mirage sat in the rec room, suffering from another recharge-less night. He had his optics offlined and helm against the wall as he fed his sparkling, wishing desperately that Hound would come back to him and to recharge.

A slight whimper woke him up, realizing he needed to fix the bottle before it slipped out of her mouth any further.

"I'm sorry, baby," he whispered, shifting Glazer in his arms. "I'm just tired."

He gently kissed the femme right above the optic, stroking her helm very softly and smiling at her as she drained the bottle. Glazer's bright optics flickered up to his, her little lips smiling as energon gurgled out of her mouth again with she giggled.

Mirage chuckled back at her, kissing her helm again and wiped away the spilled energon. He rested his helm against the wall again, offlining his optics for another klik.

"Mirage!" some mech called from the door, making him jump as jerk the bottle out of Glazer's mouth. Jazz ran over as Mirage calmed the femme down and gave her back her bottle, looking up at the panting saboteur.

"Mirage, it's Hound... he- he's back! He's in med bay..."

"He is?" he asked, shocked, standing up. "Is he alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, he's fine, gotta couple scratches but he's okay."

Mirage huffed out a smile as he looked to Glazer, giggling again with energon drooling down her chin.

"Here," Jazz offered after a moment. "Lemme take her... You go see Hound."

"Are you sure?" he asked quietly.

Jazz merely nodded, struggling to force himself to mech up and take the sparkling. "Yeah."

Mirage smiled as he handed Jazz the femme. "Thank you," he said, running out the rec room towards med bay. Jazz sighed almost happily as he turned his helm to the sparkling, who just looked up at him with her big optics like he was Primus.

"Hey there, little femme," he said weakly, bouncing her up and down as she choked out the beginning tears. "Oh, no no no, honey, don't cry, it's alright," he soothed as he placed the tip of the bottle to her quivering lips. "'Raj'll be back... You're alright..."

But Glazer didn't care. All she knew was this strange-looking mech that she'd never met before had replaced her own creator. Jazz rocked her gently as she wailed and pushed the bottle away, writhing in Jazz's arms and screaming in fear and exhaustion, trying to escape his hold that just grew tighter and closer to his frame. Her tiny servos clenched fiercely but weakly at Jazz, burying her helm in his arms where he held her, tears streaming down her cheek plates into her mouth and making her choke.

Jazz continued bouncing the femme as he ignored the looks being shot their way, taking the bottle and placing in on the counter behind him. "Glazer, honey, you're _fine,_ I'm not gonna hurt you..."

As if she could actually understand his words, she looked up at him with clouded indigo optics. Jazz merely smiled slightly at her as her crying settled down and was soon reduced to strangled hiccups, coughing slightly as Jazz wiped the tears away from her cheek plates and under her optics.

"There," he smiled, rocking her from side-to-side as she continued staring up at him, hiccuping from time to time. "You're okay... see? You're alright, honey."

Jazz gently stroked her helm as he wiped more tears away, keeping his smile as she grew happier.

He actually felt... _good._ Like a creator again... it felt strange. He smiled wider at the thought, watching as her wet optics fluttered all over his faceplate as her servo still rested against his chassis, clenching her digits ever so softly.

He suddenly remembered Mirage's words again... how he should trust him, and try again. Maybe he _should_ try again, he wondered. If _this_ was the outcome, it would be worth it.

But what if this wasn't the outcome? What if -

_*No, Jazz, don't think about that,*_ he forced himself. _*Do what Prowl told you.*_

He smiled again as he remembered something else. He reached into his subspace and pulled out Site's favorite toy that he'd found in another drawer, remembering the one whole joor they had together and how he held that one little toy the whole time.

"Look," he whispered, teasing the rubber ducky in her little faceplate, making her giggle. Glazer reached up and grasped the yellow toy, clenching weakling on its stomach and giggling even louder as it squeaked.

Jazz chuckled at the act. He watched as her attention shifted greatly on the squeaky thing in her servo, giggling and looking up at Jazz every time she managed to apply enough force to squeeze it.

After a klik or so Jazz subspaced the bottle and turned to leave the rec room, heading towards his quarters until Mirage came back for her.

* * *

Mirage finally reached med bay and knocked furiously.

After no response, he eventually opened the med bay doors himself and walked in, spotting a smiling Ratchet walking over to him.

"Hi, Mirage," he said softly, trying to have the noble focus his attention on him. "I take it you heard..."

"Yeah, Jazz told me," he said, smiling as he looked to Ratchet. "He even offered to take the sparkling so I could see Hound."

"He did?"

He nodded, searching for the scout again. "Where is he?"

"He's is the back room; just onlined from stasis lock - "

"Stasis lock? What happened to him?"

"Nothing, Mirage," he said, waving his servos. "He just needed recharge since he was pretty weak from a few beatings. But he's fine, I assure you."

"A few beatings..." he repeated softly, following Ratchet after he offered to follow him.

Hound jumped as Ratchet walked in again, huffing a smile as he saw Mirage.

"Hound," he smiled back, walking towards him. The scout sat on the edge of the berth with multiple cables attached to his chassis, the faint beeping of monitors surrounding them. Ratchet typed away at one monitor and left again as Mirage neared him, gently placing his servos to his helm and brushing his digits ever so lightly across his cut cheek plate.

"Hi Mirage," he sighed, reaching his servo up to hold onto the noble's. "Where's the sparkling?"

"Jazz offered to take her," he said quietly, examining the deep gashes. _"Primus,_ you had me worried _sick,_ Hound... Glazer too!"

"I know, I'm sorry..." he replied, Mirage kissing his helm. "I had to go in after Cliff though - "

"I know, I saw."

Hound just shut his jaw and smiled, placing his servo over Mirage's cheek plate. "But I would've been just as worried if it were you out there."

Mirage simply smiled back as Hound stood up, stretching some of the cables as he did so. He planted a passionate kiss on his bondmate's lips, pulling him closer to his frame, something they hadn't done in a while. The last time Hound could remember would be soon after they first met...

Hound pulled away after a moment, staring into his big optics, remembering how his little sparkling had inherited the same. He then pulled Mirage into a normal hug, burying his faceplate in his neck as Mirage rested his helm on the scout's shoulder.

"I missed you," he sighed eventually with his optics offline.

"I missed you too," he muffled, faceplate still in Mirage's neck.

* * *

Prowl finally finished his 6-cycle-strait shift of recon. It was now evening, and he hadn't even seen Jazz all joor. He wondered if the saboteur was alright.

He last thing he thought he'd see, however, is Jazz _holding_ a sparkling.

"Jazz?" he asked as he entered their quarters.

Jazz slowly turned around to face the tactician. "Yes?" he smiled.

Okay, this was weird. Jazz was... holding a sparkling, _not his,_ and not tearing up. He was... his normal self... like the sparkling _was_ his own.

"Well... um, whatcha got there?"

"...A tree, Prowl."

The tactician merely smirked back at his sarcasm, watching as he continued bouncing the sparkling as she recharged so peacefully in his arms.

"I told Mirage that Hound was back, and offered to watch Glazer for a klik or so," he finished.

Prowl widened his optics in shock. Did _Jazz_ really just say that?

"Oh, well that's good, Jazzy. I'm proud of you."

"Don't be," he said quietly as he sat down on the berth.

"Why not?"

Jazz said nothing as he stroked the recharging femme's helm, resting his against hers.

Prowl walked over slowly and sat next to his lover, observing how he was caressing this little creation. "Jazz," he started.

No reply. In fact, the saboteur's smile dropped a bit.

"Jazz... Look at me..."

Prowl had to take his servo and bring Jazz's helm towards him. "Baby, you're getting attached..."

Jazz sighed and turned back to the sparkling. "No I'm not," he whispered.

"Yes you are, Jazz," he replied quietly.

After another moment of silence, Prowl continued.

"Jazz..." he eventually said so softly it was barely audible, and turned the TIC's helm to him again. "Let's... try again."

Jazz just stared into Prowl's optics for the longest time, not saying anything. Those three words... those three simple words... hit him like a brick wall.

With pillows on the other side.

Prowl began to stroke lightly against his helm, Jazz turning back to the sparkling. "...Okay," he whispered.

Prowl's optics widened once more. _Okay? Really?_ "Really, Jazz?"

Jazz paused again before he nodded. "Yeah. That's what Mirage and I were talking about," he said quietly. "He wanted me to trust him..."

"...About... a sparkling?"

Jazz nodded again as he stared off into space. "He wanted me to trust him about having another one with you... He said it's a chance I should be willing to take."

Prowl smiled at the words, and kissed Jazz on the helm as he scooted closer to him. "Are you sure?" he whispered, peering at the recharging femme.

Jazz just smiled again as he nodded.

* * *

"Thank you for watching her," Mirage said as they transferred the sparkling.

"No problem. Happy to do it."

They exchanged goodbyes once again as he and Hound left Prowl's and Jazz's quarters with their sparkling.

Mirage handed her over to the scout as he went to refill her bottle. Hound happily walked through the rec room, carrying his little giggling sparkling as he sat down at a booth next the twins. Mirage soon came back and sat across from the scout, giving him the bottle to feed Glazer as the twins watched intently.

"How often do you feed a sparkling?" Sideswipe asked out of curiosity.

"I've been feeding her about once every two cycles... She has the biggest chamber I've ever seen for a femme, let alone a sparkling," Mirage replied with a smile.

Everyone just chuckled as they looked back at the sparkling. "She never quits drinking... I don't know where she puts it all."

"She's an Autobot, alright," Sunstreaker teased.

* * *

"Jazz, are you sure you want to do this?" Prowl panted.

Jazz nodded tiredly, his processor, and valve, still frazzled from that last overload.

After a moment Prowl moaned slightly as he shoved his spike up his valve once more, thrusting to get that third overload. Jazz mewled with pleasure as he bucked up into his lover, feeling the same sensor node being hit repeatedly in the back of his clenching valve.

Prowl soon had Jazz moaning his name, thrusting harder as he panted. "Oh Primus..." Jazz murmured. "Oh... nnggg..."

It really didn't take long until Jazz was bucking wildly, gasping and gripping the berth with both servos as he rode out his overload. Prowl came with a cry at the almost too-tight valve spasming like mad, panting fiercely as transfluid shot up deep into that tight port, the saboteur still arching high off the berth.

As their overload died off, Prowl managed to fall next to Jazz, huffing with exhaustion. "Dear Primus, Jazz..." he muttered, venting harshly. "...You're too good..."

Jazz made out a light chuckle as he clambered on top of Prowl, rubbing his bare panel against his. "We're not done yet," he smirked.

Prowl pulled him into a passionate kiss, the saboteur playing with his doorwings and making him moan into his mouth. After a moment he yelped as he felt Prowl's spike penetrate his sensitive valve, the walls excitedly clenching hard around the shaft as Prowl worked his way upwards.

Jazz started to pant once again as Prowl took him rough, thrusting faster and harder as his lover encouraged him.

"Oh, Primus," Jazz gasped, clutching onto Prowl's shoulders as he rode the spike expertly, slightly bouncing up and down as he tossed his helm back. "Dear Primus..."

Prowl soon had his spark case open, revealing his glowing, blue orb shining intently as it flared within it. Jazz leaned down to kiss his lover once more, feeling that thick spike move deep inside him, thrusting harder.

He pulled away as he clicked open his own casing...

And then it hit him.

A sparkmerge, he thought. He was going to _sparkmerge..._ He hadn't done this since the _last_ time Prowl got him pregnant. He gasped again he neared his overload, feeling the same node cluster being stimulated senseless. Sparklings! Again! What on Cybertron was he _thinking?_

_*Oh, Primus,*_ he thought. _*What was I thinking?*_ He couldn't do this... He started to panic, gasping in both pleasure and fear.

"No... no..." he muttered, Prowl too far gone to hear him. "No... no! Prowl... no... NO! STOP!"

Prowl looked up at him as his overload hit, overloading hard into the TIC as he brought his open spark to his, watching his lover writhe on his lap as he did the same. Jazz had tears in his optics... the tactician barely hearing him scream 'no's over and over again as he bucked harshly.

"Jazz..." he panted as the saboteur fell to the berth, sobbing. "Jazz, baby, what's wrong?"

It was too late, he knew. Prowl had sparkmerged, and he was carrying once again.

"I... I... can't do this, Prowl..." he choked, gasping horribly as the tears streamed down his flustered cheek plates. "It's too late... I can't do this..."

Prowl sat up and crawled towards his bondmate, reaching out a servo to caress his helm. "Jazzy, calm down, it's not too late- "

"Yes it is!"

"No, baby, it's not, I didn't sparkmerge!"

Jazz choked again as he looked up at Prowl, gasping as Prowl wiped his tears away. "I didn't sparkmerge, Jazz," he repeated soothingly.

"...Y- You didn't?"

"No, I touched mine to yours, but you kept screaming 'NO!' so I pulled back before the data transferred," he chuckled.

Jazz wiped his own tears away as he sniffled a laugh. "...Sorry... I just panicked..."

"That's alright, Jazz," he said as he kissed his helm. "I'm gonna wait till you're ready, alright? Whenever you're ready."

Jazz merely smiled after a while, the tears finally gone as Prowl kissed him once more. "Okay..." he whispered, thinking it over.

"Just remember, Jazz," Prowl started softly. "You obviously thought the idea was exceptional, or else we wouldn't even be this far. It's just your temporary fear that's taking control of you again."

"I know," he sighed, smiling after another pause and saying he was ready. He wasn't going to let this fear take such a firm hold on him.

Before long Prowl was thrusting into Jazz once again, nipping his neck as he pounded him into the wall, rougher as Jazz helped him along. Jazz wrapped his legs around Prowl's backstrut, gasping once again as Prowl took him harder.

The tactician opened his spark casing as Jazz opened his, feeling them throb within their casings as their overloads neared. Just keep hitting that one node, he thought to Prowl, focusing on the overload to come.

Jazz soon came crashing into overload _hard_ with a weak sigh, offlining his optics, bucking harshly and sinking into Prowl as his lover overloaded inside him. He then felt that warm spark intermingle with his, the pressure, the force... then the wonderful feeling of the two sparks combined.

He onlined his optics, watching tiredly as the single orb floated between them, glowing bright.

Prowl gasped as the sparks returned to their own casings and closed them, the darkened room filling with silence except for their heavy cycling.

* * *

**Day 11**

"Wow!" Spike exclaimed as Bumblebee lowered him down on the booth's table.

"She really is something," Carly added.

"Thank you," Mirage said, the others chuckling at the organics' expressions. "She's only about 4 days old, but that's equivalent to a little over 3 months with your species."

"Really?" Spike asked, observing the sparkling with such intent.

"Well she's the most beautiful Autobot I've ever seen!" Carly said.

"Well what about me?" Sunstreaker asked, his brother doing the same.

"And me?" Tracks teased.

"Well... you're all beautiful... but, um, Glazer is a female! Or, femme, in Cybertronian terms..."

"I know, we're just messin' with ya."

The group kept their focus on the femme as she gurgled in Mirage's arms, Spike climbing up on Hound's offered shoulder to get a better view when a loud thumping, or multiple thumpings, headed down the hallway towards them.

"Grimlock see mini Autobot!" shouted the T-Rex as Wheeljack backed them up into the rec room.

"Take it easy, now," Wheeljack explained as he slowly led them to the booth. "No touch."

"Grimlock no touch!" he repeated. "Dinobots, no touch!"

Several agreements left the excited clan of Dinobots as they peered over at the little femme. "She sweet," Swoop commented, the others agreeing once more.

"Well thank you, Swoop," Mirage smiled.

"Careful, Sludge," Carly said as he about knocked the bottle off the table.

"Sorry," he made out, returning his optics to the big round ones staring back at him.

Glazer's optics then shifted back to Grimlock's as they all remained silent. She made it past all five without crying, and actually laughed when she got to Swoop.

"What so funny?" he asked, Wheeljack soon making them leave before they got angry or something. He wasn't going to risk _anything_ at this moment.

"Well we better get going, too," Carly spoke up, looking at Spike. "We have homework."

"Okay guys," Hound and a few others said goodbye. "See ya later."

And with that, Bumblebee transformed and drove off with the humans, leaving the sparkling at peace in the rec room as the others oh-ed and awed over her once again.


	16. Creators Again

**Basis:** G1

**Pairings: **HoundxMirage, ProwlxJazz, (smallish BlasterxTracks)

I apologize for the cliffhanger... couldn't resist. xP

Uhm... Yeah. I guess that's it. Thanks for faves/alerts/reviews! :)

* * *

"Are you sure you feel like working shifts today? I can talk to Optimus - "

"No, Prowler, I'm fine," Jazz smirked.

"Jazz, you haven't stopped purging all morning, and you nearly fainted last cycle..."

"I'll be okay, Prowl."

Prowl huffed as he smiled at his bondmate, leaning down and kissing him once more. "Alright," he muttered, following him out the door of their quarters and down the hall.

"So do you feel any different?" Prowl asked after a moment.

"Yeah..." he murmured, smiling. "Yeah, it feels really weird... knowing something's _growing_ inside me like that..." He looked to Prowl as the tactician reached for his servo and brought it up to his lips. "But I love it."

Prowl smiled widely as he let go of his servo to hold the rec room door open for him. "Me too," he said softly, walking to get two cubes of energon as Jazz found Blaster and Tracks sitting across from each other at a booth.

"Hey guys," he greeted, the two smiling widely as they made room for him and Prowl as he returned. "Mind if we sit here?"

"Not at all, Jazz," Blaster said happily as he sipped his energon. Jazz looked at his own as Prowl pushed it over to him, smile dropping a bit.

"What's the matter?" Tracks asked him, the others watching him.

"Um, nothin', nothin's wrong... I- I'm just not hungry." He found himself holding his stomach plating awkwardly and looked up to see Prowl smiling the slightest bit, watching him lustfully.

"Are ya sick?" Blaster asked, knowing Jazz was always hungry. _Always._

"No, not sick... just, um... pregnant."

Blaster choked on his energon as Tracks spit his all over the table, both coughing violently and straining to breathe. Prowl barely managed to swallow his without laughing.

"_PREGNANT?_" Blaster nearly shouted in shock as he choked, the saboteur chuckling as he got the boombox to lower his vocals. "Did I hear ya right, Jazz?"

Prowl and Jazz just laughed as he nodded, shushing him from time to time and making sure no one could hear. "Yeah, I am - "

"Since _when?_" Tracks chirped.

"Yesterday," Jazz answered. "But you two are the only others that know... Please _keep_ it that way?"

Blaster swallowed the rest of his energon as he nodded. "Sure, Jazz, alright."

"Thank you," he said, smiling nervously as he looked to Prowl, eventually back to Blaster. "I didn't really mean to tell you... It just happened."

"Well that's alright, I'm happy for ya! I really am."

"Thank you," he repeated quietly, sighing as he looked back down at his energon and frowning again. Just then he placed his servo over his mouth, gulping, wishing desperately the feeling would pass, but ended up making a mad dash out of the rec room and running for the Ark entrance.

He fell to his knees as soon as he was outside, and purged his tanks for the fifth time that morning.

* * *

Mirage gently placed his servo over Hound's cheek plate once again, feeling the gashes as the scout smiled into his optics.

"Are you sure you feel alright, Hound? Why hasn't Ratchet fixed those?"

"I feel fine, 'Raj. Trust me. And he did the best he could do without completely taking off my faceplate and reattaching it."

Mirage just huffed and slowly lowered his servos from Hound's smiling faceplate.

"'Raj, quit worrying about me. If I was feeling bad, I wouldn't being starting shifts again today."

Mirage just pressed his lips together in annoyance and started walking towards the back room. "You could wait until tomorrow..."

Hound just smiled as he followed Mirage into the room. "You'll only feel the same way tomorrow, 'Raj," he said, the noble shushing him softly as he approached the crib.

"She's still recharging," he whispered, smiling warmly down at their sparkling.

"I know... I finally got her to recharge around 0300 hours last night - "

"What? When?"

"You were still in recharge, and she was crying so I got up for a while."

"...Oh... Hound - "

The scout merely chuckled softly as he gave one last glance before walking out. "Don't worry about it. You needed the recharge more than any of us. But I gotta go..." Mirage walked out of the back room towards Hound so the scout could kiss him goodbye, and watched him leave their quarters, still smiling as he turned back to the room.

He really didn't mind being on 'maternity leave', as Carly told him, as it was quite peaceful not having to worry about making shifts on time or fulfilling heavy tasks. It was nice to just stay at base all joor, feeding the sparkling when she needed it, holding her, giggling with her, doing nothing. He just wished that Hound didn't need to start again so soon.

In fact, he didn't. He _wanted_ to, he would say. Both Optimus and Ratchet recommended that he stayed off-duty for another half orn at least, mainly because of his last mission but also to help Mirage. Even though Glazer was advancing quickly like a normal new-sparked Cybertronian, she was still fairly small and needed much care.

But Mirage had convinced him, if he really wanted to start again, that he could manage the sparkling. It just didn't feel right to the scout to do nothing all joor when he was functional and healthy.

Mirage just watched the recharging femme coo weakly from time to time very softly. He just smiled slightly, thinking over what he would be doing now if Hound hadn't wanted to have a sparkling... Where he would be if they hadn't come to Earth, let alone see the humans and mini humans to give him the idea. He certainly would not be standing here, watching his own little sparkling recharge in her crib.

The thought just made him smile more.

* * *

"Jazz, _please,_ let's go to Ratchet..."

"Prowl, I'm fine. So what if I purged? It's normal."

"Yes, normal for maybe once or twice, throughout the joor. Not three times in a row, then again ten kliks later, then _again_ five kliks later."

Jazz just sighed as they walked down the hallway. Before Jazz knew it, they had arrived at med bay, the saboteur giving his bondmate a scowl for luring him here.

"I'm just trying to help," he continued, smiling as he knocked on the door.

The doors swooshed open and they stepped inside to an empty med bay. "Ratchet?" Jazz called after a while, peering over at beeping monitors as Prowl walked around, examining anything interesting. The medic soon walked out of a storage room and closed the door behind him, smiling in greeting as he walked towards the two.

"Hey mechs," he said, Prowl walking back over to Jazz. "How are you feeling?" he asked the saboteur, knowing that they were going to try again after Prowl mentioned it to him. Ratchet didn't want to go through more years of mental therapy again, but he knew it meant everything to Jazz. He couldn't say no this time.

"Good," Jazz sighed, glancing to Prowl and back nervously.

"Did it work?" Ratchet asked softly, knowing Jazz hated talking about it when he was pregnant for some reason, or telling mechs he was if they asked. "Are you...?"

Jazz nodded weakly, the medic just smiling in reply. "Fantastic, Jazz! I'm happy for you."

Prowl just smiled as Jazz looked to him once more. "We came because he's been acting strange, Ratchet," Prowl informed, walking closer to him. "He hasn't stopped purging ever since the sparkmerge."

"Really?" Ratchet replied quietly, rubbing his chin as he observed a monitor. "Well that is a little strange... But if I'm correct..."

"...Correct about what?" Jazz chirped after Ratchet didn't finish his sentence.

Ratchet just looked at him. "Um, well, let me check something... I'll be right back."

Prowl smiled reassuringly in Jazz's worried optics as Ratchet left them again. He walked over and picked up his servo, kissing it, Jazz knowing it as his way of telling him it would be alright.

"Yep," they heard as they saw Ratchet walk out of a back room with a little monitor. "Just as I thought..."

"What?" Jazz asked jumpily.

"Well, Jazz, you may or may not like hearing this..." the CMO started as he stopped in front of the two, reading the monitor. "...But under normal circumstances, when a mech gets pregnant again, your body is only familiar with the data that it last transmitted in the previous pregnancy. Therefore, your body will scrounge around to try to reproduce using that same data again - "

"So it's gonna try to... produce _twins_ again?" he chuckled nervously.

"I'm afraid so," he sighed. "I'm sorry Jazz, but there's nothing I can do..."

"W-W-Well what if Prowl didn't transmit enough data?" he nearly shouted, desperate to hear what he wanted to hear. "W-Will it affect them?"

"Well that's what we're going to find out right now," he replied calmly. "Come over here and let's see."

Jazz slowly sat down on the berth in front of a giant screen. Without word, Ratchet stuck a few sensor stickers on his chassis and stomach plating, watching the monitor as they transferred the needed data. Prowl sat down next to him, holding his servo tightly, Jazz too worried to even notice.

"Now, here it says that the data is running through the reproductive chambers normally," Ratchet pointed out as he traced a digit over the digital image. "But here it says rapid amounts..."

"Rapid amounts? Like, too much, or what?"

"Not necessarily... Rapid can just mean it's traveling too fast. But that's a good sign," the medic smiled as he looked to Jazz and Prowl. "If it is traveling too fast, that means that there is more than enough data being transmitted."

Jazz huffed out a smile at the words. "Really?" he asked, almost whispering.

Ratchet nodded happily as he detached the sensor stickers and turned off the monitor. "Yes, and twins would explain clearly the extra purging. He was like that the last time, remember?" he spoke to Prowl, the tactician nodding in response. "But other than that, I think you're good, Jazz. With this much data, you could produce triplets and still not have a problem."

"But that's not going to happen," Prowl said as Jazz looked to him. "And we don't even know if it _is_ twins yet."

"That's true. Just because it's the norm doesn't mean that it'll happen. You very well might only have one sparkling."

"...Alright," he sighed, realizing Prowl was still holding onto his sweaty servo. "Thank you Ratchet."

"Not a problem. Now come back in about three joors and we'll determine the genders and how many there are, alright?" he teased.

Prowl thanked him once again as Jazz nervously walked out of the med bay, rubbing his still-sweaty servos together. Prowl reached for his servo again as they walked down the hallway, smiling at him, tickling the palm with his digit and making his bondmate smile back.

"See? Aren't you glad we went now?"

Jazz's smile dropped as he looked forward. "Not... really... Now I just have to worry for the next three joors, carry twins again, give birth to twins again, possibly watch my twins die again..."

"Jazz, stop," Prowl said softly. "Ratchet said there was more than enough data - "

"Yeah, well, he said that last time too."

Prowl's jaw closed after a moment, knowing Jazz was right. He sighed and looked forwards after a while, not saying anything as he held his servo, only to eventually have the saboteur pull it away.

Prowl stopped them before they reached the rec room, turning Jazz to face him. "Jazz, listen. I understand you're worried. I am too. I'm also worried for _you,_ Jazz... I want you to be happy. That's all I want. I _know_ you can get through this, and we will. Alright?"

Jazz nodded as he smiled into Prowl's optics. "I'm sorry, Prowler, I know I'm being selfish... I'm trying to not be worried..."

"I know you are, baby," he said softly, kissing his cheek plate lightly. "And you're not selfish. I just want you to be _happy..._ not scared. Ratchet knows what he's doing, and I mean it this time."

Jazz sighed happily as Prowl kissed his forehelm, looking up at him and finding himself holding his stomach plating. "Now I have recon," Prowl went on, still smiling as he headed for the entrance. "I'll see you later." Jazz merely waved as he walked back into the rec room, hoping to just relax with another mech or two before his shift started.

* * *

Jazz sat at booth alone, quietly sipping his energon as he thought about having twins again. So many thoughts raced through his processor... If it tried to reproduce with the same data, would that also mean it'd be two mechs again? What if Ratchet was wrong _again,_ and 'more than enough' data would still mean spark failure? What if they had wings... oh, that'd be painful...

He forced himself to let it go as he saw Mirage walk in with the sparkling. The noble spotted him right away and headed towards him, smiling as he sat down across from the saboteur.

"Just the mech I wanted to see," he said quietly, Jazz looking to Glazer as she still managed to squeeze that rubber ducky. "I found her playing with this, and I figured you'd found Site's toy and gave it to her."

Jazz smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I thought it would get her to settle down... Sorry if you didn't want her to have it - "

"What? No, no, of course not, I'm glad she has something to entertain herself with. She loves the rattle too, but she seems so drawn to this one. Thank you."

Jazz merely shook his helm lightly as he swirled his energon. "Just something Spike showed Wheeljack, and it was kinda like a, welcoming present from him. Same material as the human version, just 'Jack made it bigger, ya know?"

Mirage chuckled lightly. "I can see Wheeljack trying to make something like that for you. You should have seen him when she was born, let alone _twins,_ am I right?"

Jazz nodded as he swallowed. "Yeah, he was... a pretty happy mech that day. Loves sparklings. Ratchet too... I know he and Ironhide were trying for one, but it never happened I guess."

"I heard something like that too..." he replied, shifting Glazer to not slide out of his arms.

After a while of silence and watching the little femme giggle every time the ducky squeaked, Jazz spoke up again. "...I guess I'll need him to make me another one, though, with the sparklings comin' n' all..."

The saboteur just chuckled after watching Mirage's faceplate light up with widened, shocked optics. "...Wh... Jazz... you're kidding!"

He shook his helm slightly as he took another sip. "Well, s-since when?"

"Yesterday... We saw Ratchet this morning - "

"B-But, wait... you said, um, _sparklings?_ As in, multiples? L-Like..."

"...Twins. Again."

"...Oh, but isn't it early to... see?"

"Well, when we went today, Ratchet said that your body is only familiar with the data it last transmitted during the previous pregnancy, so it'll try to reproduce with that same data. It'll try to make whatever it did last time, so I have a pretty good chance of havin' twins again. We don't know the genders, though; I'm thinking both mechs again."

"...Well, I... I'm proud of you Jazz, I really am. I'm glad you trusted me," he smiled, Glazer giggling with him. "And don't worry, maybe it won't be twins."

"That's what I'm hopin' for... I don't know if I could handle twins like this. But Ratchet said the data is flowing in rapid amounts, so the forming process won't take as long as normal, even though it might be twins. Like, seven joors instead of nine, for twins I mean."

"Yeah... Well, I know you'll make the most of it, Jazz. I know you'll stay strong, as mushy as that sounds..."

Jazz just laughed as he drained his energon. "That's alright, 'Raj. Thanks for being so supportive... you're a great friend. As mushy as that sounds. And you're really the only one I wanted to know, now anyways; I kinda let it slip out around Blaster and Tracks. So please don't tell anyone? Except Hound I really don't care..."

"Sure thing," Mirage smiled back widely, noticing how Glazer was getting fussy again as she threw the ducky across the room. Everyone just laughed as it socked Huffer right in the helm, the minibot realizing the sparkling had thrown it before he chucked it back at whoever thought it would have been funny. He trudged over and handed the ducky back to the wildly-giggling femme, waving off the sincere apology from its creator.

"Well I think that says she's tired," Mirage spoke after the femme began to whimper again. "I better go put her down."

"Alright, 'Raj. See ya later."

...

Mirage walked into the back room of their quarters and gently kissed his sparkling before he lowered her down into the crib. "There you go," he soothed, stroking the femme's cheek plate to get her to settle down. "Safe and sound."

"Where's your blanket?" he asked, more to himself as he realized it wasn't in the crib. Glazer just cooed in response, Mirage retracing his steps and searching around the main room, wash room, closet, everywhere... but no blanket.

He started out into the hall before he saw Jazz running towards him. "Mirage!" he yelled, holding up a large green piece of soft fabric. "You left this in the rec room."

"Oh, thank you Jazz," he laughed, taking the blanket as Jazz smiled back and turned around down the hallway.

Still smiling as he entered the quarters, he noticed a shadow flicker through the back room. He stopped in the doorway, giving a klik before he stepped forward and let the doors close. _*You're just tired...*_ he told himself after a moment, deciding he was just imagining things. He suddenly heard Glazer cry out, and began to reconsider his thoughts.

His smile dropped as he entered the back room, and saw Rumble picking up the sparkling and laughing.


	17. Protect

**Basis:** G1

**Pairings: **HoundxMirage, ProwlxJazz

Keep in mind the Axalon is like a different thing in this story... no Beast Wars. Ever. In this story.

Um... alright, even I teared up a little with my imagination of the close-to-ending... But this is coming from a girl who was sobbing at the end of Marley and Me and when Rue died in the Hunger Games. So sorry for being emotional.

...Well, enjoy anyways! x)

* * *

Rumble merely stared back at the fearful noble with a smirk.

"...Rumble..." he let out, so hoarsely it didn't even sound like his own vocals. "...Please..."

He stepped his pede an inch forward, only to have the 'Con jerk the sparkling away towards him. "Nuh uh uh!" he exclaimed, waving a digit as he muffled the femme's cries.

"Please... D-Don't... hurt her..."

"Awww, now why would I do that? Hurt an innocent little sparkling..." he said, stroking the femme's cheek plate with the back of his digit. "And can I assume you are its creator? Hm?"

Mirage choked back a noise, eventually nodding weakly. "Yes... now please... let me have her..."

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Autobot," he smirked, the noble jumping as handcuffs were snapped on his wrists behind him. _"Megatron_ still has to see this beauty."

Deep chuckling was heard behind the sweating blue mech. "Now tell us where your _partner_ is, noble. Was it that scrungy Autobot that escaped our base? And led us to _you?"_ asked the mysterious Seeker, Mirage recognizing the voice as Dirge's.

Mirage said nothing, eventually earning a blow to the helm and came crashing down on his knees, looking up only to watch Rumble walk over him and leave through the ducts with his sparkling. Tears swelled up in his optics as he heard the little femme cry out once again, knowing she was just as scared as he was.

"We'll find him, now c'mon!" he heard the minicon whisper harshly. Dirge pulled the noble up to his pedes and forced him up the air duct above the entrance to the back room. As he was being dragged through the cold metal walls, he could still hear Glazer whimpering profusely from down the tunnel.

He only prayed that Red Alert had been recording the footage.

* * *

"Blaster, did you catch that?"

"Catch what, Red?"

"Th-The camera! In Glazer's room, with Rumble!"

"What are ya talkin' about, man?" he asked calmly, walking towards the panicking mech. Red Alert replayed the footage as he neared.

"I realized this camera was not on, so I turned it on just in time to see Rumble climbing up into the ducts with Glazer. And tell me that's not Mirage in handcuffs!"

Blaster just let his jaw hang open as he paged Optimus. "H-Hey, Prime, we um, have a little situation..."

"What is it, Blaster?"

"Well, its looks here like Mirage has been kidnapped, along with his little femme. Red just turned on the camera to - "

"By the Decepticons? Do you have any idea where they have gone?" he chirped worryingly.

"I assume back to the 'Con base, Prime."

Optimus cut the link and ordered almost every mech on a search-and-rescue mission once again, the others being assigned to find Hound and guard him. If they captured Mirage, they'd more than likely want Hound too, especially after he'd escaped earlier, he would tell them.

Every mech parted their separate ways and routes after Optimus, racing to the Decepticon base to save Mirage and the sparkling.

* * *

"Hound!" Bluestreak called, Prowl following him.

"Shhh!" he shouted back, standing up from his crouching position. "Don't you know the meaning of recon?"

"Reconnaissance. A military observation of a region to locate an enemy or ascertain strategic features."

Hound and Prowl just gave the gunner a strange look. "...What? I'm a Praxian... and you asked for a definition."

"That _is_ true," Prowl spoke.

"It was rhetorical... Anyways, what do you need?"

"Optimus Prime requests you to retrieve Cybertonium from Cybertron! Ratchet says Glazer is reaching the point of needing it."

Hound sighed as he reattached his missile launcher to his shoulder. "What. He couldn't send a permitted mech to do it?"

"He, um," Bluestreak started, looking to Prowl. "...He thinks you should do it since you're the creator, and that way no one will contaminate it with the wrong data."

It took a klik or so before the two Praxians exhaled to themselves in relief after Hound finally took the bait. Of course they hated lying to him... But it was Optimus' orders. They had to protect him, even if he was completely oblivious to his own bondmate and sparkling currently being in fatal danger.

"Alright," he sighed again, hating to leave his post with just a rumor, but realizing Glazer _was_ reaching the point of advancing to needing Cybertonium. "When does he want me to go?"

"Right now," Prowl said. "The ship is waiting."

"And I'm going with you."

Hound looked to the two with a strange expression once more. "...Alright."

Before he knew it, Hound was being shoved on board the Axalon and placed dead center in front of the main dashboard. Bluestreak ran back outside as Prowl summoned him, making sure Hound stayed inside the small ship.

"Bluestreak," he started, handing him his additional backup rifle. "Take this."

"Why? I have my own - "

"You never know what could happen on Cybertron in this time period. As your older brother, it is my duty to protect you."

Bluestreak sighed and took the rifle. "I'll be fine, Prowl. You have Jazz to worry about, not family."

Prowl lightly chuckled as he rested his servo on the gunner's shoulder. "Jazz is family too, Blue," he said softly. "And whatever you do, do not let Hound wander about. He might try to contact Mirage; if he does, break his comm. link. I don't care what you have to do... We can't risk anything. Alright?"

Bluestreak nodded, the tactician pulling him into a brotherly hug. "Good luck," he called as he entered the ship and closed the doors, giving a slight wave goodbye and smiling.

* * *

Mirage grunted in pain as Dirge threw him to the ground after they'd escaped the Ark ducts. He staggered to his pedes, relief and worry both flowing through his systems as he spotted Glazer still in Rumble's hold.

"Move it," he heard rasped through heavy vocals. Again he was being pushed, walking forcibly around the back of the Ark into the open desert where they wouldn't be found.

At least, so they thought.

"I'm picking up Mirage's signal," Sideswipe pitched. "He's outside the base, 300 kilometers due west."

"Autobots, follow that signal!" Optimus shouted, and was just about to transform when Prowl ran up behind him.

"Mission accomplished, sir," he spoke quietly, the leader noting his disappointment.

"Thank you Prowl. And remember, there's really no harm done. We are just protecting him."

"...I know sir."

But it still didn't seem right... flat-out _lying_ to a mech. A friend. A creator, who was being sent away from his bondmate and sparkling for his own good... taking an unknown chance that he might not even see them again. The thought broke Prowl's spark, but he had to follow orders.

The two transformed and followed the others towards the noble's signal, growing weaker by the klik.

"Nearing the signal..." Smokescreen patched through the link.

"Autobots, maintain your distance... We cannot harm Mirage _or_ the sparkling."

* * *

"Wh... What is this?" Mirage asked weakly as he was shoved underground through a wide hole.

"Underground tunnel, of course," Rumble replied once they were walking straight again. "What? You think we'd just walk around in the open desert where we could be seen?"

Mirage said nothing as he pressed his lips together as his sparkling started to choke. "...Don't hurt her," he started as Rumble pulled her closer to him. "She has claustrophobia... she - "

"Shut up," Dirge said annoyedly, shoving the noble forward for effect.

"Don't worry, Autobot. If she dies, it'll just save Megatron the task."

Mirage gritted his denta in anger. More tears started to swell in his optics as Glazer started to whimper and gasp chokey breaths, offlining them so the tears would go away.

He onlined as Glazer started to cry, Rumble shoving her faceplate into his shoulder to stifle the sounds so they wouldn't be discovered. But the sparkling just wailed harder, louder, revealing their position by the nanoklik... Rumble eventually pulled her away and turned around, walking towards Mirage.

"Get her to shut up," he demanded over wailing vocals, shoving the femme to him. "But if you try anything funny, Autobot, we have _multiple_ ways of killing you here and now."

Mirage gulped as Dirge cautiously undid the handcuffs, the noble slowly taking his sparkling from Rumble and holding her in his arms the way she loved. He shushed her repeatedly, stroking her as they walked, trudging down the forever-seeming underground tunnel.

Glazer eventually settled down to faint whimpers, sniffling and gasping from time to time. Her optics grew duller and duller, almost completely in recharge after another long silent walk.

"Hey," Dirge spoke quietly after a while. "You hear that?"

"Hear what, Dirge?" Rumble replied carelessly.

"That drilling..."

All of a sudden the faint drilling noise stopped. It then became louder, the little femme eventually being jerked out of her recharge state from the sound and staring up at Mirage as he got her to calm down again. The noise continued to grow louder, until it seems like it was just on the other side of the tunnel wall...

* * *

"Brawn, report," Optimus demanded after silence.

"I think we're almost there, Prime," the minibot answered. "Grapple says it starting to thin out."

"Alright," he said, still worried.

"His signal has been underground for over a cycle now, Optimus," Prowl informed. "I don't know where the tunnel started, but I am sure it ends somewhere around the Nemesis."

"That's fine, Prowl. Once we drill through to his signal, we'll have both Mirage and the sparkling, and have Hound back as soon as possible."

"...P-Prime," Brawn crackled through the link. "I'm almost there, Prime..."

"That's good, Brawn! Keep drilling!"

The minibot continued the frantic drilling, feeling the pressure start to release as the tip emerged through the dirt into hollowness.

* * *

The three stood there, watching the tunnel wall of packed dirt as the drilling grew louder. Shouting was soon heard, Mirage slightly smiling to himself as he realized it was his rescue team.

_*Red_ was_ recording,*_ he thought over.

Just then he was being shoved forwards once more, Rumble ripping Glazer from his arms and running. Dirge kept pushing him until he found himself running, faster, faster down the tunnel, a thousand thoughts racing through his processor as they ran further away from his and his sparkling's one chance of being found.

"There they are!" he heard being shouted from far down the tunnel.

"Run faster!" Rumble called out, the sparkling now sobbing again as she writhed in the minicon's jumping arms.

"Stop!" Mirage heard from far away, knowing it was a useless demand.

...

Brawn and Grapple both paged Optimus at the same time. "We need mechs at the end of the tunnel!"

"We're already on it," they heard in reply.

"Keeping followin' 'em!" they heard Jazz pitch through. "His signal isn't that far away from ya!"

"We _are!_"

They ran faster, gaining speed as they flew through the dirt tunnel, shooting at last mech behind the fleeing group.

...

Grunting, Rumble pulled himself up with one servo through the end hole into Central Park.

Mirage soon followed with the help of the blue Seeker, huffing as he stumbled on his pedes and was finally standing in open sunlight again. Before either could say anything, Rumble took off once more towards the large body of water before them.

"Don't attack Rumble, you might hurt the sparkling," Ironhide chirped through the link to Jazz and Tracks as they raced across the grass, hitting at least 100 mph as they fixed their target on the minicon.

"I see Mirage..."

"He looks... free... Why is he free?"

"Why isn't he running?"

Rumble turned his helm as he ran, looking back at the water in front of him, glancing back at the three cars flying towards them as he clutched the poor sparkling tighter to his frame.

"I have to go," Jazz yelled through the link.

"No! Jazz, you'll hurt - "

"I'M GOING!"

Rumble leaped into the air as he heard the engine roaring towards him and the metal clanging as the car transformed, diving into the water... his helm almost entering as the force of the mech sent them both back onto the land. He lost his grip on the sparkling as Jazz wrestled him to the ground, Tracks transforming and running, jumping into the air just in time to catch her, rolling and catching himself before he fell into the water.

"...I got her," he panted, brushing his digits across her sweet little faceplate and making sure she was okay.

But Dirge kept running, shoving Mirage as he gripped his wrists. Mirage looked to Ironhide chasing them, gasping and offlining his optics as the Seeker leaped into the air, dragging him with him as they dove into the water.

Ironhide jumped, shouting at them, managing a grip on Dirge's collar ridge and following them into the water. All three were thrashing, letting bubbles escape their mouths as they fought underwater, Ironhide clutching onto Mirage's leg and pulling him as he pushed Dirge away, delivering a nice punch to his faceplate and receiving one in the neck. He pulled out his launcher, aiming it right at the Seeker's helm, firing and pulling Mirage towards him before the force took the noble with him.

He held the noble close to him as they watched Dirge float away. Ironhide swam up to the surface as the 'Con started to disappear in the dark abyss, Mirage weakly kicking so the warrior wouldn't have to do all the work.

Ironhide helped Mirage onto the surface as he choked up the unfiltered water. "Are ya alright?" he asked, looking into his optics, patting his cheek plate to get him to stay with him.

Mirage just nodded, gasping in relief and fear, suddenly clutching onto Ironhide's collar ridge and pulling him towards him. "Where is she?" he rasped, choking, optics so blurry with tears of fear and joy, and salt water.

Ironhide just stared back before they heard Jazz yell, letting himself go and turning to see Rumble being thrown across the park and Megatron and about three more Seekers running towards them. He gasped as he followed Megatron's light of sight towards Tracks, firing at the sparkling, hitting her dead-on, the bullet flying through her weak little chassis and lodging inside the corvette holding her as well.

"Great Primus," Ironhide muttered as Mirage cried out, the warrior having to pull the noble back so he wouldn't run out into open fire. He then ducked them both as a shot was fired...

Followed by another. And another.

And about 100 more.

* * *

"Jazz! Report your status..."

Static.

"Ironhide... report!" Optimus shouted again.

Static.

"Tracks... Mirage!"

Nothing but static.

Optimus huffed and transformed, driving off, Prowl and the others following him to the Nemesis.

* * *

"Nnggg... 'Raj!" Ironhide shouted as they ran. "Mirage, go! Get outta here!"

"_NOOO!_" he cried, sobbing as Ironhide pulled him with him, writhing in a desperate attempt to run towards his seemingly-dead sparkling. "_GLAZER!_" he screamed, Ironhide shoving him to the ground as Starscream shot repeatedly at them.

"RUN, MIRAGE!" he yelled, grabbing his faceplate and making those clouded optics look up into his. "YOU HAVE TO GO!"

Mirage just looked up at him, choking out breaths, not caring if he died from a gun shot. And from what Ironhide was doing right now, he didn't care if he died now, either. His own sparkling had just been _shot..._ along with Tracks...

Ironhide gave the noble one last shove as the shooting neared them, the mech staggering to his pedes and taking off across the park.

He saw the semi driving towards him, fast, along with about a dozen more behind him. Optimus transformed as Mirage ran to him, sobbing, tears so great he didn't even know he could produce that many. But he didn't stop; he turned, hoping they hadn't seen him, and kept running. Straight into the open fire, towards his little femme.

He was so close to her... he could jump and slide and her little carcass would be in his arms again...

He started to panic as he soon felt strong arms pulling him back again... writhing in them, kicking... He just wanted to hold her... that's all he wanted...

"Mirage! Stop!" Optimus yelled as he forced the noble back as Starscream and Megatron both ran towards them, firing frantically at the two. "You can't be here!"

"I DON'T CARE!" he screamed, more tears bursting from his optics.

Just then they heard a loud fire and a frantic cry, both of them looking over and seeing Jazz slumping in Thundercracker's arms as Soundwave lowered his smoking missile launcher.

"JAZZ!" Prowl called out, running, dodging every bullet and missile and taking the two servo-to-servo. The two 'Cons lay unconscious as Prowl continued running to the saboteur, still barely alive as Prowl fell to his knees and caressed his helm. The leader made a silent gasp, realizing the two for them were getting nearer, ducking again as a bullet whizzed right past his audio receptor.

He started to turn and run, but it was too late. He felt the noble buck as the bullet hit him, feeling him slip out of his arms as he gasped for breath, clenching his servos helplessly as his optics offlined, and didn't come back.

He looked back up at Megatron and fired his canon missile, hitting the Decepticon leader right in the neck and sending him flying back. He immediately fired at Starscream right after, the missile causing a hole in the jet's chassis and sending him to the ground.

More firing was heard everywhere for a brief moment, until everything ceased. The park was silent; every Decepticon still online turned to their unconscious leader, sprawled out on the ground, energon bleeding furiously from his neck and the holes in his chassis.

"_Retreat!_" one called, the others transforming and flying off into the water, leaving their valuable teammates there on the land.

Optimus soon gasped to himself once more as he felt the stinging pain in his own chassis and shoulder, looking down and seeing the bullet holes and energon seeping out of them. He'd been hit, but was still functional.

Prowl looked up at him, tears in his optics as Jazz was still conscious, gasping here and there. He looked to Mirage, offline in his arms, daring himself to see if his spark was still pulsing...

Relief flooded through every inch of him as he realized the noble wasn't completely offline. His spark was pulsing weakly, but he would no doubt be out for quite a while. And that was _if_ Ratchet could save him before his spark gave out eventually.

He looked to Tracks, laying on the ground, Glazer having rolled out of his grip and too laying out in the open, unconscious. "Ratchet," he paged, vocals breaking up, jumping as Ironhide limped up to him and took the offlined noble into his own servos. Bumblebee ran over to the limp sparkling, picking her up slowly, more tears streaming down his faceplate. "Come quickly..."

"I'm already on my way, Prime," the medic replied quietly, not even wanting to see the damage.

...

"Shhh... Jazz... you're gonna be okay..."

Jazz just gasped again chokingly as he looked up at the quietly-sobbing tactician. He clenched his servos tightly around him, grasping onto anything he could, parted lips quivering like he wanted to tell Prowl something.

"Shhh, baby," he soothed, choking on his own tears, vocals so broken that it hurt to speak. "We... We're gonna get you fixed, Jazzy... don't worry..."

His optics just grew more blurry as another faceplate popped into his view. "Jazz?" the voice asked softly, looking into his optics. He could tell the voice was now yelling, but it seems so far away...

His vision soon turned dark as he slipped away, hearing Prowl's last few cries and choking tears, taking a final breath as he offlined.

Permanently.

* * *

Ratchet, Wheeljack, and Perceptor ran around med bay like maniacs as monitors went off all around. Ratchet thought the frantic, constant beeping would for sure make him snap by the end of the joor.

"I need more charge!" the medic shouted, starting to panic as Jazz still hadn't come back online. His lifeline remained a constant, flat line, beeping that solid tone for over a klik now. If this last charge boost didn't do anything, Jazz was a lost cause.

"Ready, clear!" Wheeljack called, Ratchet pressing the generator to the saboteur's chassis and watching him buck into the air as it charged through his circuits.

"Anything?"

Wheeljack checked the monitor again, eventually shaking his helm no.

Ratchet huffed with anger and worry, clearing again as he set the generator on full charge and pressed it hard and long to his chassis right above the spark. "C'mon..." he gritted to himself, watching the monitor as he let go...

"Clear!" Perceptor shouted as he pressed the other generator to Tracks' chassis. His flat line immediately jumped to unstable but live spaces, the microscope sighing in relief as the third time finally worked. Ratchet looked back to the monitor, pressing his lips together... _*Oh Primus, please... Please...*_

All three cheered aloud as Jazz's life signal jumped back online, his lifeline _finally_ stabilizing after four tries. Usually the medic wouldn't have gone past two, three at some times. But Jazz was... He had to save him. He couldn't live with himself if he let this sweet mech slip away from them forever... from Prowl forever. It just wouldn't seem right... and he owed it to Jazz to give him his healthy twin sparklings once they were finally born.

He was actually surprised, out of all this chaos, more than anything, that both sparklings were still online. Even when Jazz wasn't, they survived. Jazz was fortunate to have been shot in the chassis, even though it was of course more fatal, but this way the sparklings would have made it.

Ratchet looked to to Wheeljack as he heard him sighing with frustration, walking over to the sparkling. "I just had her, Ratch," he said, choking up as he struggled to get her tiny little spark going again. "But I lost her..."

Ratchet set the generator on its lowest setting as placed it on her little chassis, Wheeljack giving him clearance as he charged her circuits for the third time. Her entire frame spasmed, Ratchet pulling away as soon as he could and staring at the monitor. It soon was beeping at a stabilized pace again, the medic smiling slightly to himself as the femme onlined and immediately started to cry.

"We need to get that bullet out," he said. "Disable her pain receptors."

Wheeljack did as told, placing more nitrous oxide over her small faceplate to calm her down as the medic quickly dug the pliers in that tiny crevasse. He soon was slowly retracting the tool, carefully as not to drop the detached bullet, and gently set it down on a metal tray behind him.

"There," he sighed. "For now she's okay."

Ratchet walked over to Mirage stood by Perceptor as the microscope typed away at his main monitor. "How is he doing?" he asked softly, looking down at the offlined noble.

"He is okay," Perceptor replied. "I have retracted the two lodged bullets from his chassis, but his circuits are still frazzled. I'd say he won't be back online for another three joors, due to natural system shutdown."

Ratchet sighed softly to himself, hoping Hound wouldn't be too mad at him for this whole situation. At least he knew his sparkling would be alright, and Mirage too by the looks of it.

* * *

Optimus stopped in his tracks as he came to the med bay entrance, seeing Prowl sitting in the floor, leaning against the wall with tears still running down his cheek plates as he stared at the doors.

"Prowl?" he asked so softly after a klik, knowing the tactician knew he was there.

Prowl said nothing. Optimus slowly sat down next to him, in silence, staring at the doors with him. He listened to the quietness, hearing the deep gasps of trying to hold back more tears from his SIC.

"We should have sent him too," he made out after a long while, Optimus turning his helm towards him.

"To Cybertron?"

Prowl nodded weakly. "We could have saved him... we would have protected him..."

"We didn't know he would need protection like this..."

"...Well now it's too late..." he said after another long pause. "We never should have lied to Hound, Prime..."

Optimus just turned his helm back to face the doors.

After another klik or so the med bay doors flew up, Ratchet standing in the center. He stepped out in the hallway, slowly, looking more sad than he was when Jazz's first set of twins had died. Prowl looked up, Ratchet reaching out his servo after a moment, the tactician taking it and standing up to his level.

The medic's grieving faceplate soon flipped to a small smile, taking Prowl's servo in both of his, Prowl gasping and smiling widely. Without word he followed him into med bay, wiping his own tears away as he saw his bondmate sitting up on a berth, smiling slightly back at him.

"He just onlined," Ratchet spoke up. "He's still a little hazy, but he's going to be fine."

Prowl just closed his mouth, still smiling as he sat down on the berth and took Jazz's servo in his. "Hi baby," he whispered, Jazz's weak optics smiling back into his.

"Hey Prowler," he rasped, wheezing a little as he took in an unstable breath.

"How are you feeling?" he asked after a while.

"Good... They think I'm gonna make it..." he chuckled.

Prowl laughed softly back. "Well, you better make it..." he teased, smiling widely. "Or else I won't have a bondmate _or_ sparklings to keep loving."

Jazz's smile soon gradually disappeared, Prowl's going with it. The saboteur made sure no one was paying them any attention before he very slowly, almost subconsciously, placed his servo on his stomach plating, looking worried again.

"Do I even want to know?" he asked so softly that Prowl turned up his audio receptor.

Prowl simply smiled in reply. "Ratchet had informed me that both sparklings made it," he whispered.

Jazz shot his gaze up with wide optics, the relief almost too sudden. The two's smiles grew and grew until they were both chuckling again, softly, Prowl so happy that he had his Jazz back.

Just then Blaster ran in, searching the whole med bay frantically, Ratchet eventually calming him down as he ran to Tracks. "Is he okay?" he asked, just receiving the news that he'd been shot.

"Yes, Blaster, he's fine. We brought him back; he's gonna make it."

Blaster just sighed as he sat down on the edge of the birth, staring at the offlined corvette for a good while, holding his servo.

Ratchet checked on the sparkling once again, worrying if her life signal decided to leave again. He kept a constant watch on the femme, monitoring her every ten kliks. He just _prayed_ that she would make it... for Hound's sake. It would be too much for the scout to take in already, let alone if his own little sparkling died because of it.


	18. We Never Should Have Lied

**Basis:** G1

**Pairings: **ProwlxJazz, RatchetxIronhide (I guess you could say HoundxMirage too...)

Alright, well, Day 12 actually probably started during the big fight in Central Park last chapter, since it was night and stuff. Just fyi.

...fluffy stuff at da end...

enjoy!

* * *

**Day 12**

"Well I hope this is enough," Hound said as they entered Earth's atmosphere, staring at the glowing cubed bundles on Cybertonium.

"We have plenty," Bluestreak assured. "Don't worry."

Hound habitually tapped his digits against the dashboard, not even realizing as he thought about Mirage and his little sparkling.

Bluestreak's neutral smile flickered to a sad look as he glanced at the thinking scout, knowing that the last thing he was probably thinking was they were both in med bay after just being _shot._

"You know, you're awfully quiet, Blue," Hound spoke up after a long while. "What's eating you?"

"Hm?" he asked, optics widening as he hadn't heard a word he had said.

"I just asked why you were so quiet. You're usually attacking me with words every chance you get."

The gunner just slumped his shoulders as he gazed back out the windshield. "I'm just... thinking."

Hound laughed to himself, earning a playful slap across the arm. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, Blue. Just... those words... coming from you... I never thought I'd hear 'em..."

"Pfff... Thanks, Hound," he laughed sarcastically.

The Axalon jerked, Hound turning back around to check if the Cybertonium was still in place and staring back out the main window, seeing the town starting to come into view through the clouds and the desert poking up right next to it. "Almost there," the gunner said, practically jumping with nervousness on Mirage's and Glazer's damage and joy to get off this ship and its awkward position it was giving him.

Soon they were being backed into the loading dock in the back of the Ark as they landed, Bluestreak and Hound unstrapping the Cybertonium and beginning to unload it. Once all were out, Bluestreak shut off the ship and shut the doors, thankful to finally cycle in that Earth air again.

"I trust the mission was a success?" Prowl asked as he got Bluestreak alone after a while.

"Affirmative," the younger Praxian nodded, smiling nervously. "But... um, tell me again what we're going to tell Hound once he figured out they didn't need the Cybertonium...?"

Prowl placed his servo on Bluestreak's shoulder comfortingly. "I'll worry about that, Blue," he said softly, also smiling with nervousness.

* * *

"Hey Wheeljack," Hound greeted his happy self.

The scientist turned around, giving a second take as the appearance of the scout shocked him. "Oh! Hound! Um, h-hi!" he chuckled nervously as he staggered over clanging metal. "I thought you weren't suppose to be back until tomorrow..."

"It was actually really easy to find this Cybertonium you wanted," he replied. "Got gone earlier than we expected."

"Oh, um, C-Cyber...tonium? I-I didn't... don't remember asking... for..." he started, vocals quieting as he went on, rubbing the back of his helm. "...Cybertonium..."

"Well Prowl and Bluestreak told me you and Ratchet needed it for Glazer," he informed. "Um..."

"Oh, well, Ratchet never told me anything... I know for a fact we still have some in the back," he said, gesturing towards the back of his cluttered lab.

"...Huh," he said, stroking his chin, eventually sighing. "Well, I guess I'll go look for Ratchet then," he said, Wheeljack's servos jumping up in defense.

"No!" he said, the two staring at each other awkwardly for the longest time. Wheeljack didn't think Hound needed to surprise himself with his unconscious bondmate and sparkling all so soon, but hated keeping from him. He had to make up something...

"...No, what?"

"...N-No... um, I-I think Ratchet's busy... You can leave the Cybertonium here, and I'll tell him when I see him."

"...Oh, well, alright Wheeljack, if you're sure..."

They exchanged goodbyes after more silence, Wheeljack sighing in relief as Hound finally left his lab without an argument.

* * *

Hound turned a corner, wondering where Mirage was since he hadn't seen him yet. Usually the noble would have been running up to him by now...

Strange, he thought.

But not as strange as the mechs at the end of the hallway whispering, looking at Hound walking towards them, then quickly stopping and leaving as fast as they could walk.

"Hey," he said, more to himself, questioning their behavior. He decided to follow them to the rec room, hearing the faint murmurs floating throughout.

He swore he'd never felt so awkward in his entire lifestream before he walked through those rec room doors and had the whole room fill with immediate dead silence, half the room staring right at him, and turning back to whoever they were talking to. Silent.

"Um..." he started, already stopped in his tracks in the middle of the room. "...Is... something wrong?"

No one answered.

Sideswipe got up to leave, the scout just stopping him. "Sideswipe?" he called, watching the red twin stop in the doorway, servo pressed against his helm in what looked like shame and pain. "What's _wrong?_" he asked more sternly.

Sideswipe sighed after a moment, finally turning around slowly, walking almost in slow motion to the scout without optic contact. He looked to his twin, hoping to Primus we wouldn't have to be the one who had to tell poor Hound what had happened while he was gone. The yellow Lambo just mouthed something, something Hound didn't understand, and turned his helm back to Bumblebee and the rest of the silence.

"Tell me," he nearly demanded, starting to worry. "Please..."

Sideswipe took in a big cycle of air, and exvented sharply before beginning. "...Uhm... Well, Hound..." He looked to Sunstreaker one more time, not one mech making optic contact with either of them. "...While you were... gone... we had an attack..."

"An attack? Did someone _die?_"

"Um... no..." he dragged out slowly, optics fluttering back to the wall behind the scout. "But we did have a few shots..."

"Who? When?"

"Glazer's been shot, Hound," he broke out, not being able to glance more than a nanoklik at the scout's expression. "Mirage and Glazer are both in med bay."

Hound could do nothing more than start to pant as he took in the words, processing them, words trying to form on his lips but not getting past his vocals.

"Now, Ratchet has 'em - " he started again, but Hound was gone. He turned to watch the slight glimpse of Hound running out of the rec room, as fast as he could down that hall that led only to med bay. He sighed heavily, slowly returning to his table next to his twin, the room still filled with deathly silence.

* * *

"Glazer?" Hound shouted as he slammed the med bay doors open, scanning his optics frantically until he spotted her.

There, that little blue figure, against the wall with what seemed like half the room's monitors hooked up to her. Hound's breath caught in his throat, walking towards the sparkling, barely noticing the noble on the berth on the other side of med bay.

His servos floated above her, shaking, the scout gasping as he fell to knees as the tears trickled down his faceplate. He gently, barely touched the femme, his trembling servos managing to pick her up and bring her to him, on the floor, holding her as he sat against the wall, pulling the monitors' cords with them.

"Honey..." he whispered, whimpering, gasping, choking on his own tears as he sobbed quietly over his sparkling... He shakily brushed a digit over the bullet hole, knowing Ratchet had gotten it out, but not if she would still make it. "I... I'm so sorry, honey..."

Just then Ratchet walked in, seeing Hound on the floor with the femme, running over to him. "Hound," he eventually said so softly, trying to wipe his tears away to get his attention. "Hound, listen to me..."

He just looked up, tears just streaming down both cheek plates, optics dark with sadness and fear. "Hound, she's going to be fine," he continued, smiling, trying to hold back his own few tears. "We have her stabilized; I got the bullet out - "

"You... li-ed to me..." he gasped, looking down as his tears started to fall on the sparkling.

Ratchet just closed his mouth, thinking over how they had sent Hound off simply for his own protection. "...Hound..." he whispered, glancing at the offline sparkling. "It was for your own good..."

"_MY_ OWN GOOD?" he shouted, Ratchet knowing he probably just made it worse. "WHAT ABOUT HER?"

"Hound, please, listen to me..."

"You - You got rid of me... so I couldn't even be there for her!" he said, more tears flowing. "Why would you do that?"

"She was kidnapped, Hound!" he nearly shouted back, the two sitting there in silence for a long time.

"...What? Wh - "

"Rumble hacked in the ducts and took her. Mirage of course saw, so he was taken too." He gestured over to the noble on the berth, the monitors beeping faintly across the med bay.

"A-And he was shot too?" he asked so weakly, his vocals breaking up even more as more tears bursted from his optics.

Ratchet nodded. "We got the bullets out and stabilized him, but he'll be out for a few joors now. Prime wanted you gone so they didn't take you as well."

Hound slowly returned his optics to the little femme in his arms, wondering who he was worrying about more... Probably Glazer, he though, since she was so weak and fragile... Just learning to walk, too. And now she might not even be with him anymore.

"You said she would make it?" Hound asked after a while, stroking her little cheek plate as he sniffled.

"Yeah," Ratchet smiled. "Yeah, she's gonna be fine, Hound. Mirage too."

Hound swallowed hard, trying to stifle his tears and whimpers as he caressed his little sparkling. "Wh-When can she leave med bay?"

"Well, I'd like to keep her overnight, but whenever she wakes up in the morning you can take her. Sound good?"

Hound nodded. "Can I stay here then?"

"Yeah, of course, Hound."

After another pause Ratchet stood up and returned to wherever he had come from; Hound wasn't paying attention. He focused only on the little femme in his arms, offline, observing the hole that would no doubt remain a scar until she was much older to have it buffed out.

"I'm so sorry, baby," he whispered barely, feeling the hot tears swell in his optics and run down his cheek plates again. "I'm so sorry... I couldn't be there for you..."

He sat there for the longest time, stroking ever so softly against her small little cheek plate, holding her so close to him. He glanced up at Mirage, wondering how he would manage Glazer all by himself... He could do it, he thought. It's just for a couple joors. Her frame advancement was in two joors, so Mirage would miss it, but by then she would be walking and talking a few words. He looked back at his little femme, smiling ever so slightly as she stirred softly in his hold.

She suddenly onlined, optics flickering slowly as she moved her helm. It rested against Hound's chassis, her little digits clenching so softly at the armor and the air.

"Hi honey," he sniffled, smiling widely at the image of his injured sparkling now awake and okay.

Glazer just cooed, optics slowly fluttering up to meet her creator's. She murmured simple sounds, barely forming words which she'd been working on the joor before, Mirage and Hound both surprised to hear her speaking so soon. Ratchet said it was actually more normal, even though she was still fairly young, and that she's be forming actual words after her first frame advancement.

Hound just held her close as she started to choke out the tears, thankful that she simmered down at the action. He shushed her comfortingly, soothing murmurs helping the femme relax and forget about the pain.

* * *

"Here are the datapads you requested, Optimus," Prowl murmured softly as he entered their leader's quarters.

"Thank you, Prowl," he said, looking over the depressed tactician. "Something wrong?"

Prowl merely shook his helm and left. He then stopped in the doorway, looking outwards into the hall for the longest time, feeling Optimus' optics stuck on him like glue.

"Prowl?" he heard him ask so softly after a while.

The tactician turned around slowly, optics fluttering up to the semi's as he spoke. "Yes, actually, sir. There is something wrong."

"Well what is it?"

"We never should have lied to Hound, Prime," he broke out, inching towards his desk. "You should've seen the look on his faceplate with Sideswipe had to tell him... it broke my spark, Optimus. How on _Cybertron_ would you feel if you were in that predicament?"

"It was for his own good, Prowl," he sighed, shifting. "I know it wasn't the best choice... We we didn't _have_ a choice...

"We could have let him stay! With his sparkling... he would have known how to get to her without getting her shot - "

"Prowl," he started, noticing his SIC's vocals rising. "Please, let Ratchet take care of this - "

Prowl slammed his fist down on the desk as the other gestured towards med bay's direction. "HOUND IS IN THERE _SOBBING_ OVER HIS DYING SPARKLING, PRIME," he shouted as loud as his vocals could manage, not caring who heard... He _needed_ the leader to hear this. "SHE'S IN THERE _DYING_ IN HIS ARMS! AND HE'S _PISSED OFF_ AT BLUESTREAK AND ME! SO DON'T TELL ME TO JUST LET RATCHET TAKE CARE OF THIS!"

He stopped, slightly panting as he came to his senses after a moment, noticing how wide Optimus' optics had become. He felt shame hit him like a brick wall... heat from embarrassment... stupidity for _yelling_ at his commander...

...Nervousness so bad as he watched Optimus stand up, not taking his optics off of him.

He quickly went through all the punishments a second-in-command could receive for disrespecting his commander at such a level. He knew he'd be in the brig for sure... a whole orn, tops. What would Jazz say? He'd miss the birth of his sparklings... and couldn't be able to be there for Jazz. Um, death, possibly... Removal from rank. Temporary, or permanent, leave... resignation... The list went on and on.

Optimus merely stood in front of his mech. "Prowl," he sighed, quietly, seeing how nervous the tactician was now. "I... understand... how you feel. Believe me. How do think _I_ felt when Elita-1 was dying in _my_ arms?"

Prowl swallowed hard, remembering that joor clearly... He pushed it aside as the leader went on.

"I know how it makes you feel, as a creator. I would have done the same if it were you, and Jazz and your sparklings had been taken. I know it's wrong... believe me, lying to protect Hound was the last thing I wanted to do. But it was the only way to not lose him too."

Prowl's optics never left Optimus' as he smoothly talked to him. He was actually surprised the calm mech hadn't thrown him in the brig already...

He merely nodded as Optimus dismissed him, doorwings swaying slightly nervously as he exited the quarters.

* * *

Hound returned to med bay with Glazer's favorite blanket and ducky.

"Here, honey," he smiled, handing her the ducky as she reached out for it, cooing. He gently lifted her up to wrap the blanket around her, picking her up and holding her once again as he sat down on the berth since Ratchet had disabled all the monitoring for the time being.

"There," he whispered, soothing her as she giggled lightly as she weakly clung onto the yellow rubberness.

"She's going to need some physical therapy," Ratchet said as he entered the main room. "The gun shot has made her very weak; typical for such a young sparkling."

"What kind of therapy? Like, orns?"

"I'd say about an orn of simple strength exercises," he replied. "I mean, she obviously can't do much at this age, but she'll be in her first upgrade by the time we start, so things like walking, moving the arms, touching her toes without bending the knees, those kinda things."

"Toes?" He raised an optic ridge.

"Yeah, Spike told me humans have these appendages called 'toes' at the tips of their 'feet'. I guess it's an expression I can use," he chuckled.

Hound just smiled as Glazer managed a small squeak out of the ducky, laughing hysterically. "So when _is_ her upgrade?"

"Day after tomorrow is what I have scheduled. It should only take a few cycles."

Hound looked back down at the femme as she cooed, weakly rubbing her optic with her servo. "But now I think you should try to coax her into recharge," he continued softly.

"Alright," the scout whispered in reply, leaning back against the wall and stroking her into relaxation. Her big optics just looked up into his, dulling more and more as time passed, her little lips starting to automatically part as she offlined her optics.

Hound continued stroking her little helm with ease, smiling slightly down on her as he watched her recharge in his arms. Ratchet then came back in, announcing he was going to hook up the monitors while she recharged for the night. The scout stood up and gently placed her on the berth as Ratchet pressed more pulse stickers on her small chassis, checking to see if her pulse was still normal.

Satisfied, the medic turned to Hound with a small smile. "Well I'll be in my quarters if you need me, Hound," he started. "If anything goes, wrong, just come and get me."

Hound nodded as he turned and walked towards his own quarters. He watched his doors close and searched around med bay, finding a chair and pulling it up to the berth. He just sat there, all night, forcing himself to not fall into recharge as he didn't take his optics off of his sparkling.

* * *

"It's about time," a husky voice said in the dark room.

"Sorry," Ratchet replied as he flipped on the light on its lowest setting, watching his bondmate sitting on the berth. "I _had_ to calm Hound down... poor mech went through a tough joor."

"I know," Ironhide murmured, standing up and walking towards Ratchet as the medic made his way towards the berth. "I've been waiting for you though," he whispered sexily, wrapping his arms around Ratchet's midriff and planting a wet, passionate kiss on his lips.

"Tell me about it," he whispered back after he pulled away. "I had to finger myself to overload twice just to settle my circuits... something about your near-death experiences just turns me on greatly."

Ironhide chuckled as he nipped his neck, licking the cables lustfully as a servo traced around the medic's interface panel. "Well then c'mon," he teased, pulling him to the berth. Ratchet snapped open his panel immediately and grasped Ironhide's servo, bringing it down to his dripping valve and forcing two of the warrior's digits up in there deep. He gasped as he manually pumped those digits, feeling his own valve clench around them tightly as they stood there in the middle of their quarters.

Ironhide just smirked and kissed him again, pumping harder as Ratchet started to whimper. His helm fell to the ground, resting against the weapon specialist's chassis as he keened and forced the pumping faster, so close to overload...

He spread his legs ever so slightly as he panted quietly, Ironhide pumping his digits harder as Ratchet begged him, listening to those helpless whimpers until the medic was bucking and thrashing shamelessly on those pumping digits as he toppled over the edge into a nice overload.

"Great Primus, Ratchet," Ironhide chuckled as the panting medic came to his senses. "You really are 'face deprived..."

Ratchet shoved the warrior backwards until they fell on the berth, kissing him fiercely as Ironhide removed his digits. The medic just whimpered the loss, rubbing his panel against his lover's in an effort to get him to just pound him senseless.

"Quiet, though," he whispered. "Hound is still in med bay."

With that, Ironhide snapped open his panel, his erect spike emerging slowly into that wet valve hovering over it. He gasped as the pressure released a little as the tight valve clenched automatically around it, the medic already bouncing up and down desperately to feel that hot transfluid just burst inside him with an exploding overload...

He cried out as Ironhide thrusted deep, hitting his biggest sensor node, Ironhide just laughing quietly and shushing him. "I thought you said _quiet?_"

Ratchet just panted as he rode the thick spike expertly, whimpering as Ironhide thrusted so hard it was almost painful. "At the rate you're going, I think I'll have to take it back..."

The warrior smirked, thrusting faster, grasping those trembling red hips, panting himself as he felt sweat start to form on his forehelm, watching his lover's expressions of pure pleasure overwhelm him. He knew he was going rougher than usual, but Ratchet just kept begging him; harder, faster... deeper...

They said nothing else as their rough interfacing took over them, either one lost in the throes of intense pleasure. Ironhide was too far gone to realize the medic was actually whimpering in pain... But he hadn't told him to stop, so he kept his pace. Soft "oh"s left him with every thrust, keening as his climax built, offlining his optics as he thrusted uncontrollably... Oh Primus, it was amazing...

Ratchet cried out and threw his helm back, focusing on nothing but the painful pleasure rippling through his circuits... so close to overload he could cry. He bounced faster, gasping hysterically, wanting it, _needing_ it... he reminded himself. "Oh Primus... Oh P-Primus... C'mon... Oh... P... OOH!"

Ratchet bucked wildly, writhing on top of Ironhide as he cried out, overloading _hard,_ finally... Short shrieks left his vocals as he bounced even harder, shoving that spike up as far as it could go.

Ironhide gasped as he finally overloaded, hearing Ratchet whimper louder as he felt the burning transfluid explode from his stiff spike deep into Ratchet's wildly-clenching valve. He slumped against the wall, keeping his optics offline as the pleasure died off throughout his circuits...

Panting, both onlined, Ratchet letting go of Ironhide's shoulders and falling to the side of the berth. "Oh... sweet Primus..."

Ironhide huffed out a weak laugh. "Feel better?" he asked.

The medic just nodded weakly, reaching a servo down slowly towards his lover's open panel. Ironhide groaned as he soon felt a servo rubbing up and down his shaft, stimulating its excited sensors once more.

"Calm down," he teased as he noticed Ironhide whining softly. He pumped it faster, moving his faceplate down so his lips touched ever so softly to the tip, glossa tracing the rim and center and making Ironhide just moan louder.

Ratchet lowered his servo and deepthroated the spike, sucking it, licking up the underside as Ironhide trembled with need.

It didn't take long until the weapons specialist was bucking again, softly as he overloaded, transfluid spilling into Ratchet's mouth. The medic swallowed with ease, sucking it dry, milking the spike as the overload simmered down.

"Well, thanks," the warrior hoarsed playfully after a while, stroking Ratchet's backstrut as he returned to laying by his side.

"My pleasure," he teased, kissing his cheek plate and offlined his optics for the night.


	19. Teething and Tottering

**Basis:** G1

**Pairings: **ProwlxJazz

I can't remember if I told you about how Nobles are ticklish and whatnot, so if I did I kinda repeated it. (Too lazy to go through every chapter and see...)

No smut... sorry... Um, stories, explanations, more stories, telling of sparkling-care... that kinda stuff. :)

ehehehe :P

* * *

**Day 13**

"Hey, Cliff," Ratchet pitched playfully as the red minibot walked through the med bay door.

"Hi Ratchet," he called. "Wheeljack told me you finally have the parts for my arm."

Ratchet nodded as he turned back around. "It's right here; I'm just fixing a sizzled circuit. But have a seat, and you'll have your new arm back in no time."

Cliffjumper jumped up on the berth, examining his metal-patched arm socket he'd had for the past few joors. He'd just about had it without his arm... it annoyed the pit out of him every nanoklik. When Wheeljack paged him, telling him they finally got all the parts and had his new arm ready, he ran as fast as he could to med bay.

"Alrighty," Ratchet muttered as he picked up the small gray arm and walked towards him. "All nice n' shiny for ya." He detached the black metal coverup, setting it to side, and carefully lined the new arm up with the bare socket and drew up his welding torch. "It shouldn't hurt," he said calmly, focusing on the exact place to start. "But it may feel a bit tight."

He hissed as the torch made sudden contact with his bare circuits, sighing softly as the feeling passed and watched as Ratchet welding all along the rim. He soon was on the second layer, applying oil to the crevasses and then finally announcing he was done.

"Wow, thanks Ratch," he said, smiling at his fabulous new appendage. He twisted it around at the medic's command, rotating the joints and noting how they worked even better than his old one. "Feels great."

"Glad to hear it," he replied, turning to return his tools. "Now take it easy, though. Give it time to build up to your system and strengthen itself before you anything heavy duty."

With a nod, Cliffjumper jumped off the berth and ran out the med bay, nearly running into the wall as he experimented with moving his arm as he ran.

Jazz then walked in, moving out of the way just in time to not be run over by the red mech, glancing as he ran down the hall. He didn't even seem to notice that Jazz's abdomen was stretched slightly more from the pregnancy.

"What was that about?" he asked as the entered.

"Cliffjumper finally got his new arm repaired," he answered, turning and smiling at the saboteur. "And watch, he'll be right back on this berth, getting it fixed again for straining it too soon."

Jazz just chuckled. "You're too paranoid, Ratch."

"No, no, no," he started with another smile. "_Paranoid_ would be if I never let you leave me when you were younger."

"Which you _didn't,_" he teased.

"That's not true! You moved to your own little part of Cybertron, and left 'Hide and me."

Jazz sighed heavily after a moment. "And if I hadn't, I would have never had to go through what I did..."

"Listen," Ratchet said after a silent pause as he walked towards the saboteur, placing his servos on either side of his arms. "You are one of the most strongest mechs I know."

"No way... What about Optimus?"

Ratchet just chuckled softly. "I mean _mentally,_ Jazz. Remember that joor we met?"

"Yeah," he smiled slightly. "That joor changed everything... even though I don't remember every detail."

Ratchet sighed as he looked over the TIC with bright, smiling optics. "You were about 20 solar cycles old... just a little thing, sitting in all that rubble, sobbing your optics out. Remember why?"

Jazz looked up at Ratchet, remembering that image of looking out over shattered Cybertron… over his destroyed home. Well, the pits, he should say, since he was born into slavery there. He remembered the guards… those huge, ugly 'Cons, grabbing his creator and pulling him back, forcing him to set little Jazz down on the ground. Jazz turned around, and he was gone… and so was his other creator. He remembered just sitting down in the rubble of metal and dead Cybertronians, sobbing for cycles until this red and white mech happened to find him and take him home. "…They took my creators…" he said softly, smile dropping. "They left me there alone… and I never saw them again."

"Yeah," he whispered, rubbing his servos up and down ever so lightly. "I found you, and took you with me, and just kept you ever since. I signed the adoption pads, but we both knew it was different. You stayed so strong through all those years, Jazz. I was so proud of you... And maybe that's why I couldn't give on you when you offlined permanently on me."

He tilted Jazz's helm up to look at him after his optics had flickered back down to the floor. The saboteur chuckled, thinking over the many, many years of how Ratchet had practically been the creator he never lost.

"…You were like my own little sparkling, that is, until you left me to move out in your own apartment," he reminded Jazz playfully. "…And met Prowl."

Jazz laughed aloud at the words. "I'm sorry, Ratch," he smiled. "You raised me to be a good mech… I figured I could live on my own," he chipped. "And get bonded."

"Oh, yes, a good mech indeed. I knew you'd be fine. And look at you now... All grown up on me... having a love life... having sparklings... Coming back here as an Autobot I didn't fine too shocking, though."

With that he let go of Jazz's arms, but stayed standing in front of him. "And I know your sparklings will be fine, too," he finished softly, smiling.

"If you hadn't've found me, these sparklings wouldn't even be an idea in my processor, let alone my reproductive chambers," he scoffed.

Ratchet just chuckled as he patted his arm, walking over to the monitor. "Well let's see how your little creations are doing, shall we?"

Jazz walked over to the berth and sat down. "I guess I just realized this," he continued as he prepared the ultrasound. "But where _is_ Prowl?"

"He's comin'..."

But before he could say anything else, the tactician ran in with a big smile. "What did I miss?"

"Nothin', Prowler," Jazz smiled softly. Prowl simply kept his pressed-lipped smile as he walked over to him, taking his servo as he stood by his side.

"Okay, Jazz, let's get you on your backstrut."

After Jazz was laying down on the berth, Ratchet rubbed the blue goop around his abdomen and placed the cold device against it. "Now, usually, with twins, you can tell and determine everything after three joors, so we'll test it out."

Jazz nervously looked up to Prowl, who just smiled back down at him. "Um..." they heard the medic mutter, both looking at the screen, searching for a clearer image. "...There..." he made out, and stopped moving the hand-held device.

"Twins," Prowl murmured, smiling. Jazz just sighed, clenching Prowl's servo tighter at the thought.

"Twins indeed," Ratchet said softly. "Take that as good news or bad news..."

"It's not... _bad_ news..." Jazz eventually spoke up. "It just... worries me."

"Remember what we told you, Jazz," Ratchet replied. "You're stronger than this."

"You can pull through... I know you can," Prowl whispered to him.

Ratchet continued moving the device around on Jazz's abdomen. "There's a mech," he said cheerfully, all three noticing how it was indeed a mech starting to form.

"That's the cutest little spike I've ever seen," Prowl said, earning soft chuckles.

"Aaaand..." the medic continued, shifting the device several times until it finally became clearer. "There he is... another..."

But all three pairs of optics widened in shock at the image on the screen. One of the most rarest images on Cybertron... Jazz could hardly believe what he was even seeing.

There, as a twin to the mech, was a femme.

* * *

"No, no, she's actually pretty good," Hound replied to the question. "She can stand on her own sometimes, but I have to be right there or else she'll hurt herself."

"Well can she form sentences?"

"No, but she can mutter a few words... watch. Glazer!"

The femme turned her smiling faceplate to her creator as she sat in the floor in front of the mechs. "What color is Bumblebee?"

"Yeyo!" she chirped.

"Very good, honey," he smiled, Bumblebee, Tracks, and Ironhide all awing.

"What color is Ironhide?" Tracks asked.

"Wed!"

"Wed," he repeated to himself, chuckling. "Adorable."

"Let's see ya walk, Glazer!" Bumblebee pitched, the femme giggling as she clambering to her wobbly pedes. Hound reached out a servo to steady her, her little digit wrapping around his as she caught her balance. She slowly stepped one pede forward, earning multiple cheers from all around the room where mostly everyone had stopped to watch.

"She's been practicing a lot, especially since Ratchet said she's so weak from the gun shot," Hound added as she slowly stepped with her other pede. "I found it's been helping to forget about her denta pain."

"Oh,_ teething,_" Tracks mentioned. "I believe that is what it's called for a human when their _teeth_ start to come in."

"Well whatever it is, I know it hurts. She hasn't recharged well in a while from it."

"Aw, sorry 'bout that lil' buddy," Bumblebee soothed, Glazer looking at the minibot and loosing her focus and falling forward. Luckily Hound was there to catch her, or a face plant would have just added to the pain.

"Sorry," he muttered, Hound just chuckling as she regained her balance.

"Can you get your ducky?" he asked her, pointing at the upside-down yellow duck.

Glazer just giggled again at Hound, the scout taking the expression as a "no". He sighed playfully, picking up his sparkling and standing up to pick up the ducky.

"Time to wash up," he teased, knowing she loved washing more than anything. Hound could never keep the femme away from water... it was her most favorite thing.

"Yay!" she chirped, the others giggling as they said goodbye to him and Glazer.

* * *

"Honey, come back here," he repeated for the second time, watching as Glazer crawled towards the public wash rack doors again, thankfully stopping before exiting and escaping down the hall while Hound was in the middle of washing.

She sat in the floor, staring up at Hound as she slobbered over the rubber ducky in her mouth. Hound kept his optics on her as he rubbed the wash cloth over his arms, soon gesturing for her to come away from the doorway.

"Whoops!" Blaster exclaimed as he nearly kicked the femme as he walked in. "Sorry, lil' Glaze," he soothed, stepping over her.

"Honey," he said again, waving his servos towards him to get her to crawl back to him. "Come over here. You're in other mechs' way."

She just crawled towards him on the slippery tile, dropping the ducky from her mouth and picking it up. "Stay here," he chuckled. "For the third time."

He was just about to finish as Glazer started to cry after a moment, squeezing the ducky hard as the wailing increased. She looked up at Hound as he sighed, knowing her denta had probably stimulated another pain sensor.

"Glazer, put the ducky in your mouth, sweetie," he said loud enough for her, and unfortunately every other mech in the wash racks, to hear as he quickly rinsed off the rest of the soap, gesturing with his digit. "Put the ducky in your mouth..."

The femme soon realized what he was saying and looked at the ducky in her servo, the sobbing just growing louder. She shoved the rubber ducky in her mouth, biting down on it hard, keening as she cried. Hound finally turned off the water and picked her up, dripping wet but not caring. Glazer's tears were covering most of her, anyway.

"That's it," he whispered, stroking her little helm as she looked at him with pain and soaked optics. "You're okay... Shh..."

He soon got her to stop crying, the little femme just keening from time to time as she gnawed on the ducky. He felt _so_ bad... it made his own spark hurt at the sight of his little sparkling in such pain, crying like that... He wished he could do something more than just cradle her into relaxation or have her chew on something chewy.

"Ready to wash up?" he smiled after a moment, Glazer's whole attention focusing suddenly on Hound. She popped the ducky out of her mouth as she nodded with a smile. He set her back down as he dried off with a towel, soon picking her back up again.

They returned to their quarters within a matter of kliks. Hound set Glazer down inside their own wash rack flooring where the surrounding edge had a high little lip so she couldn't crawl out very well. "Stay here," he said, quickly walking out to retrieve the bucket of water he'd brought back from the communal wash racks. Their own had stopped working the other joor, so they had to wash in the public racks until Wheeljack could fix it, which wasn't until tomorrow.

"Here you go," he teased, watching the femme bounce with joy as he filled up the rack to the edge of the barriers. He set the bucket down and sat on his knees, reaching for the liquid cleanser and wash cloth, lathering it and scrubbing down the squirming sparkling.

"Hold still," he chuckled, lifting up her arms and trying to get the creases filled with dirt and oil without her shrieking with laughter from it tickling.

He blamed Mirage for that, too. Nobles were always ticklish, especially their stomach plating for some reason.

So when he _washed_ the stomach plating, he got a loud scream of happiness and water splashed all over him. He just laughed to himself, wiping it away with the towel.

"Yeah, I-I see your ducky," he giggled as she just shoved the yellow thing in his face.

He picked up her pedes and washed them and her legs, scrubbing down her hips where she scratched them against the table in the rec room. He managed to scrub in between her little thighs and her panel without too much drama, knowing it was still sensitive.

She just giggled as he squeezed the soap over her helm, wiping it down as he covered her optics for her. Her little servo helped him, placing it over his for extra protection.

"There," he said as he finished with her backstrut. "You're done..."

The femme merely gurgled in happiness and shoved the ducky in his face once more, laughing as he pushed it back to her. He kissed her helm lightly just before a loud knock at the door made Glazer jump.

"It's alright," he said, standing up. "Stay here... play with your ducky."

He opened the door as she gurgled in reply.

"Evening, Hound," Prowl spoke.

"Hi, Prowl," he replied as he stepped aside for the tactician to come in. "How are ya?"

"I'm good... Prime wanted me to - "

A sharp shriek came from the lighted wash room, both looking to see a puddle of water being splashed out on the floor, followed by excited giggling. Hound walked to the doorway, seeing how she was splashing around to make waves in the water for her ducky.

"Glazer, honey, throttle it down," he said playfully, turning to look at whatever she was pointing at. "Here," he said, picking up the rattle off the counter and handing it to her, walking back out to Prowl.

"Sorry about that."

"It's fine," he chuckled, focusing back on the datapads in his servos. "Prime just wanted me to give these to you for mission reports, like your mission to Cybertron and to read while you're off duty for the next couple joors."

"Oh, yeah, sure," he muttered, taking the pads. He looked back up at Prowl after a moment, noticing how he was just standing there, silent, like something was troubling him.

"You alright?" he asked, the tactician's optics jumping up to his.

After a moment he nodded slowly. "Um... Hound?" he asked after the scout had gone back skimming through the datapads. Hound looked up, hearing Glazer giggle hysterically again from behind.

"Are you... um... still... really mad at me?"

"About what?"

"...About..." He exvented heavily. "About... me _lying..._ to you...?"

Hound's neutral smile flickered to a slight frown as he bit his glossa, thinking over the whole situation he'd been trying so hard to forget. "Um... No," he started, shaking his helm, Prowl's optics widening ever so slightly. "No... I-I'm not... _mad..._ I mean, I'm mad that I couldn't be there for _her,_ and look what happened..."

Prowl sighed to himself, focusing completely on the scout.

"But I'm not mad at you Prowl, for obeying orders," he finished. "I couldn't stay mad at you or Bluestreak."

"I'm sorry... that I didn't have a choice," he said after a pause. "But thank you for understanding. We've been going through a lot lately... you know. I didn't know if I could handle anything else."

"Oh yeah, Mirage told me you were expecting again. He said maybe twins again... how's that going?"

Glazer giggled once more, Hound sighing to himself and smiling as he heard more water splash no doubt everywhere.

"Well, good, Jazz's about three joors along ... He's still pretty frazzled, though... We received some... weird news today."

"What news?" he asked, scrolling through the last datapad.

"Well... um, it _is_ twins, again, but it's multi-'gendered'."

Hound looked up again, optics wide. "Like, _both?_"

"Yeah," he nodded. "A mech and a femme."

The scout exhaled through o-shaped lips, a servo reaching behind his helm. "Primus, Prowl," he chuckled. "That's... really something..."

"Yeah... it was, _unexpected,_ I'll tell you that..."

Both mechs chuckled softly before Prowl soon spoke up, saying he better get going.

"Alright, well, thanks for the pads. Good luck!"

"Thanks," he called softly but teasingly, waving it off as he left the quarters and the doors shut behind him. Hound smiled to himself slightly as he set the datapads down, walking back towards the soft cooing coming from the wash rack.

"Alright, little Boo, time to get out."

"No!" she cried, looking up at the mech with pleading optics.

"Yeah, honey," he replied. "You've been in there long enough. Your circuits might get sizzled."

She merely crossed her arms and glared at the scout, Hound just laughing as he pulled the metal plug. "Don't give me that, Boo. We'll get some energon, then it's time to recharge."

"No Boo!"

"You're _my_ little Boo," he teased, tickling the underside of her chin as he picked her up out of the water. "You'll always be my little Boo."

He loved the nickname, and so did Glazer. It fit her perfectly. Her first mumbled word was "boo", and she said nothing but it for two joors straight. They first time he called her by it, she giggled nonstop, her entire attention focusing on Hound. It still seemed to be her favorite word, as she still said it over and over again when she was playing with the ducky or the rattle. She also loved to say it in order to scare someone, like hide in the closet for Hound or Mirage to find her, then yell "boo!" as they did. Plus she always managed to crawl around and disappear everywhere so fast, like a little 'ghost'.

It made them laugh every time.

"There you go," he said softly as he set her down in the main quarters' room after he dried her off, and dried up all the water on the wash room floor. He shut the lights off and walked out, only to stop and stare at the femme as she somehow managed to stand up and stabilize herself against the berth all by herself.

"Oh, that's good honey!" he called, walking over to her as she turned her helm to look at him, giggling as she bounced. "I'm so proud of you!"

She turned back to the berth, stepping one pede to the side and catching herself on the side table. She just gurgled softly as she stepping with her other pede, catching herself, stepping with the other... repeating the process until she was standing alone with nothing to hold onto.

"Do you need help?" he asked as he watched.

She simply looked up at him, suddenly giggling again and stepping one pede out in front. And she didn't fall.

"Yay!" he cheered, walking closer.

"Yay!" she shouted, mocking her creator, giggling so much she started to drool.

"Oh, Glazer," he chuckled, wiping the slimy energon away. The femme then just plopped down on her aft, hiccuping, gnawing on her own little digit.

"C'mon," he sighed, picking her up. "Let's get you your energon."

* * *

They later returned to their quarters, Glazer almost half in recharge as she slurped her bottle slowly.

Hound sat down in the metal rocker in Glazer's room, rocking her slowly as she quietly drank her energon. Her little servo held up one side, weakly, as Hound tilted it to feed her, her helm nuzzled comfortably in Hound's neck.

He just sat there, in the dark silence, listening to the hissing slurps from the bottle and his daughter's soft coos. It was so relaxing... and for the sparkling too.

After a while the slurping stopped completely. He looked down to see the little sparkling's optics offline, her small lips parted slightly around the bottle's nipple. He continued rocking her as he set the bottle on the side table, kissing her helm softly as he made sure she was deep in recharge before he stood up.

He gently lowered her in her crib after another moment, wrapping her blanket around her snuggly so she didn't wake up cold in the middle of the night like she used to. "Goodnight, Boo," he whispered, leaning down and kissing her above the optic once more before quietly walking out of the room.

He spotted the ducky in the wash room, and picked it up and went back to the crib to place it at her side.

* * *

Hound onlined his optics as the screaming grew louder and louder, hoping it was just a dream...

He soon realized it was Glazer, hearing the choked-up wails and sobbing coming from the back room. He jumped off the berth and ran in, flipping on the light to its lowest setting and walking over to the crying sparkling.

"Oh, honey, it's okay... Shh shh shh..." he whispered, picking her up as she stood against the bars of the crib. "You're alright, Boo... Shh..."

He bounced her up and down, stroking her, petting her helm so softly as he tried to rest it against his chassis. She just pushed away at him, more tears bursting from her dull optics as the sobbing increased.

"Oh!" he said to himself as he realized in his dreary mode why she was crying as Glazer grabbed Hound's servo as best she could and stuck a digit in her tiny mouth, biting down _hard_ on it as she choked and cried hysterically. Hound quickly reached down in the crib and grabbed the rubber ducky, handing it to her, Glazer taking the ducky as she spit out Hound's digit and shoved it in her mouth.

"There," he soothed as the crying eventually settled down, swaying her back and forth lightly. Her helm fell against his chassis as they moved peacefully, murmuring and gasping chokingly as Hound dried her tears.

He pressed his soft lips against her small helm, kissing it so lightly, holding her close as her optics went duller and duller until they offlined. "There, sweetie," he whispered, stroking her helm as he coaxed her back into recharge. "My little Boo..."

The ducky slipped out of her mouth and fell to the floor with a squeak as she sank into recharge, Hound holding her lovingly for another klik or so. He carefully set her down in her crib, wiping the rest of the tears away, re-wrapping the soft blanket around her and placing the ducky by her helm.

He sighed heavily to himself as he turned to exit, but stopped as the flicker of the red light off the camera in the corner of the ceiling caught his optic. He looked up at it as he walked out, knowing it had probably been recording the whole thing since the crying no doubt woke up any mech around, especially Red Alert.

Now that he thought about it, he realized it had been flickering since he sat in that metal rocker and fed her earlier that night... It recorded everything.

He really didn't mind, thought; He just thought over how they never got any privacy. All he was doing was feeding and putting the sparkling down for recharge. Why record it?

He didn't know. And at the moment didn't care. He laid back down on the berth, taking a deep breath, letting it out as he turned his helm to the side and saw the empty half. He missed Mirage already... He just hoped he could handle this by himself for... however many more joors the noble would be out.

Nonsense, he told himself. He could do it. He knew he could. It's no big deal.

In fact, he couldn't wait for tomorrow... Glazer's first upgrade. He checked his chronometer: 0300 hours almost. He turned back to face the ceiling, offlining his optics and falling into recharge.

He only wished Mirage could be there to see their upgraded sparkling with him.


	20. The Reunited

**Basis:** G1

**Pairings:** ProwlxJazz, HoundxMirage

REUNIFICATION!

That's about it. At the end. Mostly sparkling stuff... just walking, talking, explaining, drooling, giggling, crying, Ratchet-being-impatient-ness, ya know, those kinda things.

Hope ya like!

Reviews are nice... thanks to those who do, and for all the faves and alert requests :)

* * *

**Day 14**

"Glaaaazeeer..."

The sparkling did nothing but cycle deeply.

"Booooo..." he dragged out again playfully, tugging the blanket off her, only to have her pull it back as her optics flickered online.

He chuckled lightly as the femme turned her helm to him, dulling her optics at the bright lights. She merely cooed, optics adjusting and giggling loudly as Hound tickled her stomach plating.

"C'mon, goofball," he smiled, picking her up as she reached out her arms for him. "We got a big joor ahead."

She let her helm fall against Hound's shoulders as he carried her out of her room, dulling her optics peacefully.

"En... nercon?"

"No energon this morning, sweetie. You can't have anything before your frame upgrade."

They soon reached the med bay, and Hound knocked while he propped Glazer up with one servo. The doors slid open to a smiling medic, gesturing them to come in and have a seat. Glazer started to squirm as he sat on a berth, turning her helm to watch Ratchet mess with monitors.

"How are you doing today, Glazer?" he asked, smiling at the femme. Her big optics merely changed to worried ones, and she buried her helm in Hound's neck.

The medic just chuckled. "That's alright... it's normal," he replied to Hound's apology.

"Glazer, honey, Ratchet's going to put you in your new frame," he soothed.

"No!" she muffled.

"We could let her cycle in some nitrous oxide," he whispered, Hound nodding slightly and causing Glazer to look up at him.

Ratchet left to retrieve the gaseous element as Wheeljack walked in. "I fixed the wash rack, Hound."

"Oh, thank you, 'Jack."

"So what's going on with the little femme?" he teased, smiling at her, only to have her bury her helm back in Hound's neck.

"We get our first frame upgrade today, but we're scared," he replied. "Ratchet's gonna let her relax with nitrous," he whispered.

"Ahh. Well, I suppose I'll stay then, in case he needs assistance or something."

Glazer squirmed even more as Ratchet came back with the portable metal case and mask. "Alright, Hound, why don't you hold her while I place this over her mouth," he started only to have the femme start to shout murmured noises at him.

"It's alright, Boo," Hound smiled, holding her in a good position as Ratchet neared her. "It won't hurt."

But she started to cry anyway as Ratchet gently lowered the mask, pulling it away as she pushed at it. She writhed in his arms, burying as much as she could of herself into Hound as he stroked and shushed her calmly, soothing her as she cried loudly.

"It's okay, honey," Ratchet spoke softly, knowing it didn't help at all. He gave the mask to Hound so he could maybe let her cycle it in easier, since he was her creator and all, and that way she might cooperate better.

The scout held the mask away from her mouth as the gas released, falling gently onto her faceplate, the femme eventually settling down and relaxing somewhat in Hound's arms. "There you go," he soothed, smiling lightly at the sparkling, her wet optics locked on his as she cycled in the funny air unknowingly.

"Try placing the mask on her mouth," Ratchet spoke up. "She might be simmered down enough for the benzo."

Hound did so, only getting a few whimpers of protest before she was out like a light. Wheeljack helped him lay her down on the berth gently, making sure she was completely offline before letting Ratchet get to work.

* * *

"Are you feeling okay? Jaaaazz...?"

The saboteur looked up at Prowl. "Yeah... fine."

"...You sure don't _act_ fine."

Jazz sighed. "I am, Prowler. Fine."

The saboteur stood up as Prowl did, holding his back. He was only four joors along, but with twins, his abdomen was already stretched enough to look like he was at least six joors along.

He loved it.

"Well why don't you stay off duty?" Prowl sighed as they walked to exit the rec room.

"I'm capable of workin'. For another joor at the least."

"Alright... if you say so..."

Jazz merely smirked back at him as they walked down the hall. "Thanks for being so calm durin' the meeting and the public announcement by the way," the saboteur spoke up after a while. "It was much less stress for me, and you too I'm sure."

"Oh, yes, no problem Jazz. I think Optimus was the most excited," he chuckled.

"And Wheeljack."

"Yes, Wheeljack was too."

After a while they reached the brigs; Jazz hadn't even been paying attention, so it surprised him a bit. He was just following Prowl.

"You two behaving yourselves?" he shouted, Jazz peering in with him to see two pairs of bright, worried optics shining through the metal bars.

"Yeah! Now can ya let us out?"

Prowl merely laughed as he fiddled with the lock pad. "I don't think so."

The door opened slowly and Prowl stepped in, subspacing two small odd-shaped containers of energon as it closed back. "Eat up. You got another two joors."

"_Two joors?_" Sunstreaker chirped. "That's like an orn!"

"...Not exactly. You'll survive. And if you don't, then you've learned your lesson."

"And what lesson, exactly, are we learning by being starved and stuck behind metal bars for five joors?" Sideswipe asked tonefully.

"Well you can start by not being a smart ass to your superior," he replied coolly as he exited the brig and closed the door. "And you _both_ know _well_ to _never_ mess with Ratchet's medicines. You have no clue what could be in that stuff, how dangerous it is, what damage it could cause if not used properly..."

Sunstreaker just scoffed. "What we did wasn't that bad..."

Prowl's optic ridge arched high from their sheer stupidity. "...You poured it over Powerglide's arm and watched it disintegrate while he recharged."

The tactician turned back to Jazz as the twins said nothing more, smirking. "Wow, tough guy," Jazz teased.

"Nah... Just... doing my job."

"Swearing and yelling at your prisoners?"

Prowl's smile just grew wider and he said nothing for a while as they walked. He reached for Jazz's servo as they left the brig area, squeezing tightly and letting go.

* * *

"No!"

"Yes, honey. Drink this."

"No en... ener... nercon!"

"Glazer, you're going to be sick and miserable if you don't get some energy. Your new frame has to adjust to it." Ratchet handed the bottle to her once more, the femme just pushing it away for the fourth time.

The medic sighed and pulled the bottle away, standing up and placing it on the counter. "Fine. Maybe Hound can get you to drink it."

"Ratch, calm down. She's just being a sparkling."

"I know, Wheeljack. I guess my lack of recharge is taking over me."

"I'll get Hound..." the scientist muttered with a smile.

The scout soon was walking towards the femme, smiling as he picked her up. "Well, look at you!" he exclaimed, the sparkling just giggling madly. "It's like you're a whole new femme."

She keened a big grin on her beautiful faceplate, Hound kissing her slightly larger helm lovingly.

"She needs to drink this," Ratchet said as he handed it to Hound. "Maybe you can get her to cooperate."

"I'm sorry, Ratchet. I know she never wants to drink it... Even I have a hard time."

Ratchet stroked his chin as he watched Hound gently urge her to drink the bottle, finally getting her to open her mouth and take it. "Perhaps she's outgrowing the formula..."

"Well it's been almost seven joors... and we're almost out anyway."

"Maybe try mixing normal energon from the dispenser into her formula. See what she does."

Hound nodded and thanked the medic once again as he turned to leave, carrying his advanced sparkling with him.

* * *

"Wow!"

"Well what happened to little Glazer?" Jazz teased.

"Nercon!" she yelled at him, giggling like mad.

Prowl and the others laughed and looked to Hound. "She's excited she doesn't have to drink that formula anymore," the scout explained.

"Ahhh..." they replied.

"She's even prettier than before," Blaster said playfully, tickling her all-gray stomach plating.

"So can she walk on her own now?" Bumblebee asked.

"Not completely... the upgrade's allowed her to stand pretty well-balanced and she can take a few steps, but she still needs practice. She can also say a few more words and really small sentences, so that'll take some work too."

"Cool..."

"Well I still think she's the most beautiful femme I've ever seen," Jazz smiled.

Hound looked down at Glazer as she sat in the floor once more with everyone surrounding her. "What do we say Boo?"

"Thank you!" she grinned, looking up at Hound and then to the mech who said it.

"She's able to interpret voices and remember mechs, _and_ form solid words simultaneously," Prowl spoke. "Impressive."

"Ratchet said she's quite smart and is advancing very well for her age."

"I'm not surprised," Ironhide said softly. "Bein' part Noble and all."

Most mechs chuckled, Glazer laughing with them just to feel included.

"She still looks a lot like Mirage," Hound went on. Everyone observed her as she played in in the floor, murmuring to herself, looking over her white chassis and gray stomach, her light gray legs and blue panel resting on the floor with her dark blue knees bent inwards. She had her ducky in between her small black pedes, her soft green blanket draped over her blue shoulders with her rattle in one white servo, twisting it around as she turned her blue helm from side to side.

"Quite the femme," Jazz eventually spoke.

"Honey, try walking again."

Glazer dropped her rattle as she giggled, standing up as Hound held out his digit for her to hold on to. "Careful," he said as she gained her balance, smiling at all the clapping as she stood perfectly by herself.

"There you go, now step forward..."

She did so, placing her little servo on Prowl's knee for support. "Good job, Boo," Hound smiled. She let go of his digit and almost left Prowl's knee as she walked five steps in a row, like a pro.

More cheers came from the group as she walked by herself back to Hound. As she neared his open arms she started to walk faster, tumbling over her pedes and giggling. She ran into Hound's arms, the scout swooping her up and sitting her on his lap.

"Great job, Boo," he chuckled, kissing her helm.

"That _was_ impressive," Ironhide smiled.

"Thank you!" she yelled again as Hound looked at her, just smiling at her reaction.

After a moment Jazz suddenly gasped, loudly, causing them all to look at him.

"...Sorry," he said quietly, letting go of his stomach plating after he found himself gripping it in pain. "Just a kick."

"Just one?" Bumblebee asked.

The saboteur jumped again as the other sparkling kicked rather hard. "There it is..." he wheezed.

Prowl merely smiled at his bondmate and took another sip of his energon. "If these contractions keep up, I'm eventually going to have to handcuff you to a med bay berth."

"As many times as you put me in 'em, I think I can get mahself out."

Deep chuckles left the group at Jazz's cool reply, Prowl just smiling to himself and turning back to his energon. "The other times you weren't four joors pregnant."

"I _did_ have your spike, though."

More laughs erupted through the surrounding mechs. "Alright, alright, let's not start a war between you two..."

"Look, you even made Glazer cry!" someone teased as the femme broke into tears once again. Hound kicked the rubber ducky towards him and picked it up, handing it to his sparkling as she clenched her small digits at his chassis.

"Here, honey," he soothed, rocking her as she bit down on the ducky. "You're okay."

Several awes left the group as she continued to cry, wiping her own optics with one fist as the other servo entered her mouth alongside the ducky. She clenched her tiny denta on it, trying to make the pain go away, sucking on her digit as Hound stood up with her.

"I better go," he said as the others waved, bringing her over to the rec room counter. "Sit here, baby," he said as he gently sat her down on the counter as she cried and opened the cooler, filling her unsubspaced bottle with the formula about halfway and then filling the rest with energon from the dispenser.

"You're alright," he repeated as she screamed again, wailing harder, gnawing on the ducky and biting down hard on both the rubber and her little digits. She bounced on the counter from the pain, turning her helm to Hound as she heard the dispenser trickling energon into her bottle. She watched it intently, crying gradually ceasing for the time being, sniffling as she watched the distracting purple energon pour out in a narrow stream and mix with her formula.

Hound let go of the trigger and twisted the top back on the bottle, walking back to Glazer as she looked up to him when the energon stopped coming out of that strange machine. She started to cry again, sobbing, tears streaming down her little faceplate and taking the ducky out of her mouth.

Hound gently showed her to keep chewing on the ducky, knowing just about every mech was watching them. "There you go," he whispered, picking her up off the counter with one servo and walking out of the rec room.

As much as Hound loved his little sparkling, her wailing was starting to give him a bad helmache. He turned down his audio receptors a bit, sighing as he gave a simple greeting back to those who passed them in the hallway, ignoring their looks as Glazer continued to scream.

"Primus, honey, does it really hurt that bad?"

She just sobbed harder, keening as she bit down forcefully on the ducky once again. Hound could even feel her hot tears running down his backstrut.

He sighed again and turned around. He passed more mechs as he returned to the rec room area, turning down another hall and walking quickly to med bay. He slid the doors open himself, Ratchet and Perceptor nearly jumping at the sudden sound of wailing and screaming vocals.

"Ratchet," he almost had to yell as he sat the femme down on a berth. "I can't take this anymore. It's killing me inside... I can't stand to watch her suffer like this."

Ratchet waved his servos in understanding and ran into a spare room. He came back out with a jar, one the scout had never seen before, and started unscrewing the lid and dipping a digit in the goop.

"This might help..." he started, setting the jar down to gently hold her helm in place. "I didn't want to use it unless she really needed it because of all the side effects..."

Glazer screamed at the top of her vocals over and over again, trying desperately to escape the medic's cold servos grasping her chin and cheek plates. More tears streamed down her cheek plating onto Ratchet's servo as he pried her crying mouth open a bit, wedging his digit inside and swiping the goop over the pecks of denta emerging through the sensitive metal.

"There..." he said at last as he pulled the digit away, Glazer just looking up at him and sobbing. All of a sudden she stopped, gasping and sniffling slightly, looking over to Hound with soaked optics. Hound smiled warmly, the sparkling then looking down to her ducky on the berth and picking it up.

"Wow," Hound said quietly. "What _is_ that stuff?"

"A simple cooling gel. I use it on different things, and each thing reacts differently and has different side effects. I haven't used it on sparkling denta for... _ever_... but I remember it would sometimes cause the metal to turn kinda slimy after a while, or cause the sparkling helmaches."

"Will she experience that?"

"Not necessarily... Her denta's been growing for a good three joors now, so this might be the only time I have to use it."

Hound smiled again as she looked up to him as she rubbed her optics with a servo and wiped the tears away. "Well, thank you Ratchet. It certainly helped."

"Not a problem," he murmured. "But it's a good thing you're here; I meant to tell you but got distracted. Mirage woke up."

"He did?" he asked as he picked Glazer up and held her as she squeezed the ducky.

"Yeah... He slipped back into recharge though, simply from lack of it when he was dealing with the sparkling. He's fine, though, I wanted to let you know. He'll be out of med bay in a cycle or so."

The scout merely smiled to himself and they looked to Mirage on the berth. "Well thank you again, Ratch. I honestly don't know what I'd do without you."

The CMO just chuckled. "It's what medics are for."

* * *

"Do you like that better?"

Glazer nodded as she sucked from the bottle, holding it herself as Hound rocked her in the metal rocker.

"Good," he smiled, kissing her helm lightly.

Hound watched her as she finally drained a whole bottle... something he'd been struggling to get her to do since Mirage entered stasis. He was happy the femme would finally have some energy, even though she seemed to have plenty, and would finally be able to recharge well after three joors. And this way, so would he and Mirage.

"Are you getting tired, Boo?" he whispered as she stopped drinking the energon to rub her optics. She shook her helm, returning the bottle to her little lips.

"You had a big joor today, honey," he soothed, Glazer turning her helm and focusing her big, bright optics on his. "I'm proud of you for being a good femme."

She smiled, energon almost drooling out of her mouth. "Ducky!" she said loudly, holding the rubber ducky up to Hound's faceplate once again.

"Yeah, I see your ducky." He took the ducky from her as she continued to have it shoved in his faceplate, nudging it against her cheek plate and neck cables and making her giggle.

"I love you," he chuckled, stroking her helm and kissing it once more.

Just then he heard the doors swoosh open from their quarter's main section. He slowly stood up, attention fully on the noise, setting the ducky down and peering around the corner of Glazer's room.

He sighed in relief as Mirage closed the doors back.

"Mirage," he whispered, the noble looking up and smiling. Hound walked up and hugged him with one servo, Mirage wrapping both around him and Glazer snuggly.

"Hi," he sighed, so glad to finally be back with Hound again, and in his own quarters instead of that med bay. He could just barely remember everything... He still felt this tight sting in his chassis where Ratchet had taken the bullet out. He remembered the tunnel... Rumble taking his sparkling, making him hold her when she wouldn't stop crying... watching Glazer being shot... And almost crying tears of joy when Ratchet told him she was just fine when he onlined a cycle and a half ago.

He pulled away to view his little sparkling, cooing in Hound's arms in her new frame. "Oh..." he sighed, stroking her, kissing her helm, trying to hold back more tears. "Look at her..."

"I know," the scout whispered back. "You'll be so proud when you see her walk..."

"She can walk?"

Hound nodded as Glazer squeezed the ducky again and giggled. "Almost by herself. And she can talk a little better, too."

Mirage smiled as they transferred the sparkling so the noble was finally holding her again. She merely looked up at him, big blue optics widening as she tried to remember who this mech was. She giggled when he smiled at her, knowing the mech was her other creator.

"Can I see you walk?" he grinned, Glazer's smile widening and nodding her helm. Mirage set her down and she stood by herself, placing one little servo on the berth for support as she stepped one pede forward, then another, eventually letting go and walking to the wall all by herself.

Mirage couldn't believe it... It seemed like just yesterday she was just learning to crawl, cooing in his arms as she drank her formula. Now she was in her new frame, _walking,_ drinking almost normal energon, _talking..._

"Has her denta come in?" he asked as Glazer walked back towards them.

"Yes, and she's almost done, thank Primus. I didn't know if I could stand watching her suffer like that for much longer."

"Well what did you do for it?"

"She chewed on her ducky most of the time, or else her or my digits. I eventually had to take her to Ratchet and he gave her a cooling gel, and that helped a lot."

"...I'm sorry I couldn't be here to help you," the noble said softly as he picked up his sparkling once she ran back to him.

"Don't apologize," he smiled. "You had no choice... and it was fun."

Mirage smiled back down at the femme, bouncing her, picking up her ducky as she reached for it and handing it to her.

"Tell Mirage what color he is, Boo," Hound continued.

"Blue!"

"Very good," the noble chuckled. "You're very smart... I'm proud of you, Boo."

"And what do we say?"

"Thank you!" she exclaimed loudly. Mirage just giggled.

"You're even teaching her manners," he teased. "I'm proud of both of you."

Mirage looked down and saw how the femme had been staring at him with her bright optics intently. "What time is it?"

"2300. Past her recharge time."

"Well no wonder she keeps rubbing her optics..." he smiled, walking back to her room and sitting in her rocker, coaxing her into recharge as she finished the rest of her bottle.

And it didn't take long at all before the sparkling was offline, lips slightly parted as she laid comfortably in Mirage's arms, deep in recharge. Mirage kissed her little helm and set the bottle on the side table, slowly standing up and laying her down in her crib for the night, placing the ducky in her little open servo. It automatically clenched around it, bringing her arm to herself to cradle it.

Mirage quietly walked out, smiling, Hound walking out of the wash racks and wrapping his servos around his bondmate's midriff. "I missed you so much," he eventually muffled into his neck, kissing it lightly.

"I missed you too," he sighed. "I couldn't stop thinking about you when I was prisoner of them... I thought you were hurt since I never saw you."

Hound sighed, deciding not to explain the long story to the noble this late at night. He simply nipped his neck cables, loving his bondmate, holding him with passion, both offline their optics as they rocked back in forth in the middle of their quarters.


	21. A Promise

**Basis:** G1

**Pairings:** ProwlxJazz (smallish RatchetxIronhide, HoundxMirage)

Skippin' ahead... The story's almost over, like a few more chapters. I dunno... I may do a sequel or something.

So starting in this chapter, I still have the date number from since Mirage was carrying, and now its " **/ 'Jazz's date'**", and I just started Jazz's date at Day 7. Sorry if it's confusing.

Enjoy!

* * *

_**Three Joors Later**_** – Day 17 / 7  
**

Glazer was now walking by herself, running around, Hound and Mirage having to constantly watch her so she didn't electrocute herself on anything or go where she wasn't supposed to.

"Glazer, baby, come back here," Mirage called, sipping his own energon as he and a few others made small talk. They and a few mechs were the only ones in the rec room at the moment, since it was the middle of the night. Hound was even still recharging; Mirage took Glazer to the rec room since she wouldn't recharge to feed for some more and just let her run around. Maybe that would tire her out.

Glazer giggled and turned around, running back to Mirage. The noble handed her her own smaller cube with a lidded spout, similar to a human sippy cup Carly had told him about. She took the cube as she clambered up in the booth next to him, sipping it loudly.

"I gotta start my night shift soon," Mirage heard Beachcomber say.

"Mine actually started ten kliks ago, but Huffer said he could manage for a while. I guess I better go though," Smokescreen added.

"Have a nice night, Mirage," the dune buggy said softly as they stood up.

"Likewise," he smiled, Glazer giggling as she watched her energon trickled out the spout onto the table. Mirage sighed as the others left, standing up to get a wash cloth.

* * *

Jazz laid in their berth once again as he refused to spend the night in med bay, even though he knew that he could go into labor any nanoklik now. He shifted closer to Prowl subconsciously in his recharge state, not being able to do more than lay on his backstrut and nestle his faceplate in Prowl's neck.

He onlined his optics as he felt one of the sparklings kick, optics blurry as he focused them on Prowl and pulled his helm back. He looked towards the ceiling, wincing at the pain of the sudden contractions.

After a while he found himself dozing back into recharge, ignoring the very slight kicks and contractions. He figured it would stop eventually.

That is, until he gasped loud enough for Prowl to online his optics. He sat up, wincing again, gripping his overly-stretched abdomen, feeling that wet substance trickle down between his thighs. He shook Prowl awake, the tactician sitting up with him.

"Prowl," he whispered in pain. "Prowl, wake up..."

"I'm here," he said wearily. "Are you alright?"

Jazz nodded, but soon whimpered once more as Prowl stood up and helped him off the berth, paging Ratchet.

* * *

"You're alright, Jazz," the medic repeated, still a little blurry-opticed from being woken up in the middle of the night. Ironhide went back to his own quarters, that he rarely used from recharging with Ratchet, as the CMO told him he should go back.

The saboteur just whimpered again, already panting, clutching the berth's handle bars as his valve continued dilating. Wheeljack attached another tube to Jazz's backstrut, trying to feed as much pain reliever as possible through his circuits without causing harm to the sparklings.

"Now, relax, Jazz. Your valve may be dilating simply because it thinks it should. It might just be heavy contractions from the twins."

Jazz just continued panting, whimpering, gasping as he felt his small valve stretch further.

"If the sparklings don't start to emerge, we'll have you do some simple exercises to help them along," Ratchet continued.

"But they're already half a joor early," Wheeljack whispered to him. "Why are you forcing it?"

"Because he's in pain and it isn't healthy to carry them much longer, as small as he is."

"He's average, Ratch."

"You know his valve is smaller than average," he said after Jazz suddenly cried out. "And his chambers generally aren't the largest, either."

Wheeljack stopped talking and just followed Ratchet's orders for the rest of the time. After a cycle or so passed, the pain reliever started to wear off, and the scientist fed a little more through his circuits. He'd just assisted his medic friend in plenty of births before... one actually just almost an orn ago. He knew what to do... he was never nervous. But this one made him feel uneasy...

Jazz then cried out again, clenching Prowl's servo as his offlined optics faced Prowl's chassis. He gritted his denta as the valve opened wider, dilating so slowly that Jazz thought it was doing it to purposely cause him so much pain.

Ratchet shushed him, soothing him as he stroked his large abdomen. "You're alright, Jazz... I'm going to have you just walk around a bit, alright?"

Jazz looked up to the medic, trying to put aside the fact that the one who would be delivering his sparklings was, and still technically was, his 'adoptive' creator. He trusted that calming look in Ratchet's optics... stiffling his groans of pain, trying to focus on the CMO's words rather than the searing pain in his valve.

"Alright, now, just breathe," Ratchet reminded him as he and Prowl slid Jazz's legs over the berth. Prowl helped Jazz stand up, the saboteur moaning and holding his backstrut with one servo and his stomach plating with the other. "There you go... Now come on..."

Jazz slowly made it to a nearby machine for walking, similar to a treadmill. Ratchet started it out slow, more sensor stickers attached him, walking at a low pace as Prowl never left his side. He clenched both servos around the handles of the treadmill, gripping them tightly, Prowl stroking his shoulder and backstrut peacefully.

"Do you feel okay?" he asked softly.

Jazz nodded with a cool whimper, sighing. "Yeah... yeah I think so..."

Prowl smiled, kissing Jazz's cheek plate so softly. "You're going to do fine," he whispered in his audio. "I know you will."

Jazz sighed again with a slight smile, gripping his stretched abdomen in pain as he suddenly keened again. Ratchet then came by to check on him, pressing the next speed button. "Doing okay?"

Jazz nodded again, focusing on his walking, and trying not to think about the sparklings he knew were shifting so their helms were pointing downwards, hoping his walking would help for them to start emerging and get this over with.

He cried out again as he felt another kick, whimpering as he felt more oil start to trickle down between his thighs. He pressed the previous button to lower the speed, inhaling through gritted denta as he clenched tighter around the handles.

With one more cry after another few kliks, Ratchet and Prowl stopped the treadmill and helped him back to the berth.

"You're alright," they soothed as he started panting again. Ratchet spread his legs immediately as Prowl positioned him as comfortably as he could, Wheeljack attaching another tube to his backstrut. "Alright Jazz, you're doing fine. I just need you to start pushing, okay?"

"W-Why so urgent?"

"Well, you're losing oil," he replied calmly. "We just need to get the sparklings out before you run out completely."

Prowl gripped Jazz's clenching servo tightly. Jazz sat up as much as he could, Wheeljack massaging his backstrut and luring him into his first hard push. Jazz keened loud and long, squeezing Prowl's servo, gasping as he finally stopped.

"That's it, Jazz," Ratchet smiled. "Great job."

He just whimpered, tossing his helm back in sincere pain, pulling Prowl's servo towards him and the berth as he pushed again, feeling that sparkling emerge his or her way out almost forcefully.

"Page Perceptor," Ratchet murmured to Wheeljack as he came around to his side. "We may need backup."

* * *

"What can I do?" the microscope said tiredly as he finally arrived in med bay.

"Just stand by Jazz's side... massage him into pushing. Help him along."

Perceptor went and stood opposite side of Prowl, seeing the straining saboteur rocking as Wheeljack massaged his backstrut, trying to give birth to these sparklings... He took his servo and squeezed it, smiling into those pained, dull optics.

"Just breathe," he whispered, so softly, like a creator to his sparkling. "Just breathe, Jazz."

Jazz whimpered again, tears already streaming down his cheek plates since five kliks ago. "C'mon, Jazz, push... push..."

He groaned loosely as Wheeljack pressed on a sweet spot in his backstrut, squeezing fiercely on both Prowl's and Perceptor's servos as he pushed as hard as he could.

Ratchet patted his abdomen as the TIC gasped again, stopping after an impressive push for the saboteur.

"Nnnggg... Ahhh..."

"Don't strain yourself, though. Nice and easy..."

Jazz kept his optics offline, feeling Wheeljack rub his servos into his backstrut, helping him relax greatly. Perceptor massaged his servo, the two clenching their digits around each other, Prowl doing the same with the other. The tactician kissed his helm ever so softly, murmuring peaceful words into his audio receptor, helping him push once more.

"NNNNnnngghhh... nnngghhh...," was all he panted, straining his stomach cables, pulling the two servos towards him with a rather strong grip.

"That's is... Keep going..."

"C'mon, baby. Push..."

He shrieked as he caught his breath, cycling roughly, bring Prowl's servo up to his mouth and bit down on it as he keened harder, pushing once again as he pushed Perceptor's down to the berth with him.

"Very good, Jazz," Ratchet smiled. "You're doing fantastic." His digits rubbed against the valve walls, stimulating them, encouraging the first sparkling into the world, stroking Jazz's trembling legs often to calm him down.

"D-Door... Wings! _Primus..._ the _w-wings..._ NNGGGHHHH!"

Ratchet pressed deeper into the valve, trying to release the pressure of the wings sliding through his chambers. "It's alright, we'll fix it..."

Ratchet quickly felt around for his pliers and found them, carefully inserting them into the wildly-clenching valve, almost as if the pain was causing him an overload. He clasped onto one of the tiny wings, lifting it slightly, Jazz crying out... "Push for me, Jazz..."

He did so, forcefully, Ratchet carefully turning the wing so neither would catch on the valve walls. The wings were bent so close to the sparkling's helm that he could manage to grasp them, not easily, but it helped. He sighed as the wings finally folded in under its backstrut, allowing the helm to emerge further and less pain for the saboteur.

"The helm is almost here, Jazz," Wheeljack said as he noticed Ratchet's happy facial expression. "You're almost there..."

"Just a few more pushes, baby," Prowl whispered soothingly.

He merely keened once more, shouting muffled shouts of pain as he bit down on Prowl's servo again. He then let go of the servo, optics still offlined, sitting up as Wheeljack continued massaging his tense backstrut to push the sparklings into the world.

Scream subsiding after another long push, he onlined his optics and clung onto Prowl's collar ridge. "I... can't... do this..."

"Yes you can," Prowl smiled. "Yes, baby, I know you can. "

"You're so far, Jazz! I'm so proud of you," Ratchet added.

"I can't..."

Perceptor left his side to grab the damp wash cloth and wipe the poor saboteur's forehelm pouring with sweat. "The first sparkling's helm is nearly here," he said softly. "Then it should be smooth sailing from there. The second shouldn't be a problem."

Jazz looked up to Perceptor, then to Ratchet. Ratchet looked up from massaging the valve walls to smile at him, telling him how he could barely see the helm.

"Jazz," Prowl said quietly, the Porsche then looking to his bondmate. "Think about how you're life will change... how much you'll love them when this is over. Just a few more pushes and you'll be done, alright?"

Jazz weakly nodded, whimpering, clenching his digit's around the tactician's. "I...Ahhh... _Promise _me... they'll be okay..."

"Yeah, baby, I _promise,_" he smiled. "Now push... You got this..."

Perceptor brought his servo outwards and continued to clench and unclench it, working in rhythm to Wheeljack's rockings, in tune with Jazz's groans. Jazz kept his optics offline again, panting softly in motion with the physical treatments, noting how they were indeed helping him relax. He silently pushed, moaning through pressed lips, feeling Ratchet's digits rub harder against the wall to get the helm to finally show.

He gasped, lips now parted as he panted fiercely, more tears falling from his optics as he felt the throbbing pain of the helm finally poking through.

"Almost there!"

"There's the helm," Ratchet said, Prowl smiling at his beautiful bondmate.

Jazz just screamed again, more tears bursting from his optics and clouding up his offlined visor. Wheeljack stopped massaging and quickly fed more pain reliever through the tube, rubbing harder but more passionate on Jazz's backstrut.

His scream only intensified, growing long as he pushed so hard his legs were shaking. He was so desperate... _so_ desperate for this searing pain to just _stop..._

Prowl wiggled his servo out of Jazz's hold and quickly switched so the other could wrap around the back of his neck and stroke it soothingly. "C'mon... c'mon... you can do it... push..."

"Push, Jazz! You're so close..."

Jazz just screamed again as he pushed, moving his helm forward in motion with his rocking.

* * *

"I don't know when Jazz started going into labor, Prime," Bumblebee responded wearily to Optimus' paging in the rec room. "I just heard the shouting around 0130."

"Well Ratchet paged me to let me know the sparklings were coming at not even 0100, and it's now after 0300. I hope he's alright."

"Well it _is_ twins, sir," Warpath stated.

"I know, but - "

Just then another scream echoed down the hallway, silencing everyone. It was like Mirage all over again... Every mech was in the rec room, dead silent, nervous, listening to the shouts of pain coming from med bay. Everyone, including Optimus, knew that just one cycle, maybe even one and a half, was a normal amount of time for giving birth for Cybertronians, not even two cycles for twins. But Jazz had been in labor for three cycles at least.

"Keep in mind dilation can take a while, depending on the mech," Mirage eventually spoke. He was _still_ in the rec room ever since he heard the shouting, Glazer _finally_ recharging in his arms as he laid comfortably against the booth wall. Hound recharged across from him with his faceplate in his servo.

Optimus said nothing more as he and the rest of the mechs stayed in the rec room, nervously listening to the saboteur echo down the hall.

* * *

Wheeljack rubbed slow but wide circles into his backstrut as Jazz pushed again, pushing the two servos down into berth with him.

"That's it, _push..._ easy..."

His optics were slammed shut, but tears still left them as he continued his push. He gasped again as he couldn't hold it anymore, crying out as the sparkling emerged even further.

"You're doing great, Jazz," Prowl smiled. "Just one more push..."

"I almost have the helm, Jazz. Give me one more big push, now."

Panting harshly, he focused on the servos pressing deeply into his backstrut, massaging it, the two servos rubbing and clenching either of his own as he squeezed them.

"Ohhh... _Primus..._" he keened, scream growing long and loose as he made his final push, lips parted weakly.

"C'mon, push..."

"Push!"

_*Don't stop... c'moooon... Push!*_

His vocals were nothing but static at this point as he kept his scream, loud and long, writhing on the berth, Perceptor and Prowl bringing his servos forward to help him put pressure on his abdomen and push hard.

"So close... keep pushing..."

Prowl brought his helm to Jazz's, letting the saboteur press into it forcefully as he squeezed unbearably tight on his servo, screaming... holding it out... pushing so hard...

He continued the scream through gritted denta, legs trembling, _feeling_ the helm emerge... And with that, he gasped deeply as he finally felt the tiny body being pulled out completely, feeling it leave him, Perceptor wiping his forehelm once more as the others cheered.

He heard Prowl and the others laughing cheerfully, feeling his soft lips press against his helm. "Oh, honey, you're done... the first one's out!"

"You were outstanding," Perceptor smiled, wiping another damp wash cloth over his sweaty forehelm. "We're all so proud."

Jazz just panted severely, choking on his own unsteady gasps as he watched his little sparkling being carried off into another room, barely hearing a word the others murmured to him as he listened to the sweet sound of tiny crying vocals.

Prowl kissed his cheek plate, stroking his neck, Jazz resting his helm against the tactician's until he cried out again as the second sparkling kicked.

Wheeljack then ran back out the other room to Jazz. "Alright, looks like the second one wants out too... This should be a piece of cake."

"C-Cake?"

"Some food the organics eat," he replied playfully. "It means it should be really easy."

Jazz only cycled rougher as he suddenly pushed again, keening, offlining his optics again. Prowl and Perceptor continued to squeeze his servos as Wheeljack pressed into the valve walls, stimulating them, Jazz shouting once more as he felt the second twin slide out through his chambers.

Within a matter a ten or so kliks, the helm started to emerge. "There is is," he heard the scientist say. "Keep pushing... you're doing great!"

He clenched tightly around their servos, pushing once again. "Oooh... I... I..."

"You got this, baby," Prowl smiled. "Just push..."

"_Nnngggghhh..._ O-Ohhh..." was all he panted as he finally gave birth to the second twin. Wheeljack pulled the completely emerged helm out, Jazz cycling deeply and letting his helm fall against Prowl as he onlined his optics.

Prowl sighed and kissed him once more, chuckling softly as he nestled his helm into Jazz's neck. "I'm so proud of you..."

"We have a femme," Wheeljack said happily as he cut the umbilical cord.

Jazz barely made out how Wheeljack's smile faded as he picked up the sparkling, even though his face mask covered most of it.

The sparkling wasn't crying...

He looked to Prowl nervously, Perceptor turning his helm back to him to wipe the copious amounts of sweat from his forehelm and faceplate. "Don't worry, baby," Prowl said softly, still smiling. "She'll be okay. Nothing's wrong."

Jazz was too weak to argue how he knew that... he kept his mouth shut as he turned back to Prowl, panting softer as his helm rested against the SIC's.

"Your mech is older by about 20 kliks," Perceptor said as he started to feed energon through him since he was still so weak, then typing at a monitor to record the times. "Born at 3:25 AM, femme born at 3:43 AM."

"Is the femme okay?" he asked, vocals so staticy that he barely made out the words.

Perceptor merely looked at him after pausing at the monitor, then to Prowl. He started to say something as he turned to the monitor, Jazz just worrying more.

"Um... Y-Yes... Yes, she's alright... She wasn't crying, but that could be due to many reasons."

Jazz sat up slowly, optics wide. "What was the reason?"

"I'm not sure, Jazz. Ratchet will let you know. But I'm sure nothing is wrong."

Jazz started to tear up again, sitting up more as Prowl held him down. "Relax, honey," he whispered. "Nothing's wrong; there'd be much more commotion in there."

Jazz sighed, Prowl wiping the tears away with his digit gently. He soon got him to calm down, the two patiently waiting for the medic to come out, and really didn't have to wait long until a second set of wailing vocals suddenly sounded from the back room. Jazz sighed and sank into Prowl's hold, relief and worry flooding his circuits.

"I'm sorry about that," Ratchet said as he walked out with the mech, smiling at him, carefully handing him to Prowl since Jazz was still fairly weak. "The femme wasn't crying..."

"What's wrong with her?" Jazz demanded.

"Now, calm down, Jazz. They both had a rough birth, and sometimes that can just disturb the sparkling so it won't cry, or else she was shocked too much from the sudden lights or coldness or insecurity. Remember, they're very snug and warm inside those chambers, and then they're exposed to the cold, lighted world."

"W-Well is she okay now?"

"Yes, Jazz. We eventually got her amniotic energon flowing so her cycling airway wasn't blocked."

Prowl looked back down at his little sparkling, his big blue optics staring right back into his. He smiled warmly, stroking his tiny, tiny helm that he found irresistibly adorable.

"Look, Jazz," he said quietly, smiling at his bondmate. "He's beautiful..."

Jazz sighed and finally smiled, widely, something he hadn't done all night. He weakly lifted up his servo and touched his helm, smile just growing as the little mech's optics flickered to his.

"Hi baby," he whispered, sitting up more to stroke his sparkling's helm soothingly. "You're so cute..."

Prowl chuckled, looking up as Ratchet soon came out with the femme.

"And here is his twin," he said cheerily, carefully handing her to Jazz. "Two of the healthiest split-sparks I've ever seen."

Jazz looked up to the medic, a small smile forming. "Really?" he hoarsed.

"Yeah," he whispered. "I can't find a single problem. No traces of spark failure at all. I promise you nothing's going to happen."

Jazz's smile widened as he looked back down at his tiny femme. Ratchet stopped to watch her, to watch Jazz with his sparkling again... feeling so happy that he was able to deliver Jazz's healthy split-sparks and tell him they were going to be absolutely fine. He slowly placed his servos around Jazz's helm, leaning down and kissing the top. "I'm _so_ proud of you, Jazz."

Jazz looked up to Ratchet, thankful that he'd had such a wonderful lifestream with such a wonderful mech. He cradled her, smiling to himself, almost tearing up again. "Hi honey..." he said so softly. "...My little femme..."

"What are we going to name them?" Prowl asked after a while.

"I was thinking I liked the name of this one old Earth band..." he replied. Prowl just giggled, not surprised that the saboteur would want to name something he loved after something else he loved.

"What band?"

"...Metallica."

Prowl smiled at the name, looking at his femme in Jazz's arms. Her little arms reached up to her beautiful faceplate, stretching them, cooing as Jazz kissed her helm. "I love it."

Jazz smiled at the little mech, and asked Prowl what he liked for a mech name.

"When we were going over names a few joors ago, remember that one I really liked?"

Jazz nodded and smiled as he remembered the name clearly. "Chromix. You came up with it."

"Do you like it?"

"Yeah, I do. I love their names," he chuckled. He looked back down at the little femme, dull optics smiling down into big bright blue ones.

Prowl looked from his mech, wrapped in his navy blue blanket, to his femme wrapped in her soft yellow blanket. "She's beautiful," he said after a moment. "Looks so much like you."

"I know," he chuckled softly. "Chromix is like a mini you..."

Prowl laughed, shifting the blanket so it wasn't caught on his tiny doorwings. "Well, his doorwings are just from the data. Who knows how his upgrades will turn out."

The two just continued staring at their little creations, their twin split-spark sparklings, their mech and their femme, their son and their daughter... Neither could barely believe it. Finally, they had sparklings again...

Jazz only hoped they were worth it.

* * *

Prowl laid by Jazz's side that night, stroking his helm softly as they laid together in med bay. Jazz had his visor dulled, cycling peacefully as his bondmate quietly held him in the darkness.

"How do you feel, baby?" he eventually whispered.

"…Tired…" he sighed weakly. "My valve still hurts."

"I know…" He gently kissed his helm, nestling his faceplate against his. "I'm sorry…"

Jazz turned to look at Prowl. "Don't apologize when I need to thank you."

"For what?" he chuckled.

"For giving me sparklings… and staying with me…"

Prowl smiled and kissed his helm softly. "You're welcome," he whispered playfully.

After a moment Jazz's visor was offline, cycling peacefully as Prowl continued to stroke his frame. The tactician just rested his helm against his bondmate's, offlining his own optics after a while, the two sinking into recharge in the quiet med bay.

* * *

**Day 18 / 8  
**

"Primus... look how cute they are!"

"Sweet Primus, Jazz, you had us worried sick!"

"Do you feel okay?"

"What are their names?"

"They look almost identical! Except for they're a mech and femme, and the mech has doorwings..."

"She's so cute! She looks like you, Jazz!"

Prowl and Jazz just smiled at the endless questions and compliments as they each held either twin and sat in the rec room, feeding them, introducing them to everyone.

"This is Metallica," Jazz spoke weakly. "And this is Chromix."

"Who was first born?"

"Chromix," Prowl answered. "By 20 kliks."

Several awes left the large group. "And they're healthy?" Bumblebee asked, almost regretting it as he hadn't thought about if Jazz was comfortable answering it.

"Yeah, they are," he replied. "Ratchet said they're two of the most healthy split-sparks he'd ever delievered."

"Makes sense," Sunstreaker teased.

"They're still _sooo cute…_" his twin added after he slapped the golden mech.

Prowl looked down to his sparkling mech, smiling to himself, thinking over how beautiful they both had turned out after all those joors of carrying and cycles of sincere pain… even though he hadn't felt anything as Jazz was the one who gave birth to them. He looked to his femme in Jazz's arms, then to the saboteur, hoping that he thought they were worth it… that they were worth all the excrutiating pain that he thought would be useless once again... Jazz had been so weak still; Prowl even had to help him walk to the rec room, even though he'd been in med bay for ever since 0100 yesterday morning. After another moment of talking, Prowl soon said they should return to their quarters.

"Watch it," Blaster warned as he helped Jazz up. "You still feelin' weak?"

Jazz nodded. "Ratchet'll soon have me doing strength exercises..."

"...After a couple joors, that is," Prowl finished as Chromix cooed.

"Of course."

"Well do you guys need help?"

"No, no, we're fine... We can manage. Thanks though."

The whole group watched them leave as the two lovers exited the rec room, walking slowly down the hallway side by side.

...

"Here, honey, sit down," Prowl soothed as they walked in the quarters. Jazz sat down on the berth, holding his little femme as Prowl walked into the back room where their two old cribs had been set up again.

"Goodnight, baby," he whispered, smiling, loosely placing the soft blue blanket over his tiny sparkling. He leaned down to kiss him so softly on he helm. "I love you," he grinned widely, the sparkling just weakly cooing as his optics slowly offlined.

Prowl walked back to the main room to where Jazz still sat on their berth, the little femme giggling slightly as Jazz smiled at her.

"Let me take her," the tactician spoke.

"Alright..." he whispered, Prowl taking her into his arms and walking back to her crib, gently lowering her down. He kissed her and said goodnight, tucking her yellow blanket around her comfortably.

"Thanks," Jazz whispered as Prowl came back. "Sorry..."

"Don't be sorry, baby," he replied. "I like taking care of them, and you can't help it."

Jazz merely smiled, Prowl taking his servo and leading them back to their berth.

"Do you feel alright?" he asked him after a while as they laid down together. Jazz nodded, turning and smiling at his bondmate.

"Metallica seems pretty weak," Jazz said hoarsely.

"Honey... they're newborns. Fresh-sparked split-sparks. They're going to be a little weak, and so are you. They're going to be _fine._ Trust me."

"... I know..."

Prowl wrapped his arm around the saboteur's midriff and kissed his cheek plate. "Relax, baby... for your sparklings... for me... Please... Don't worry."

Jazz just sighed. "You promise they'll be alright...?"

Prowl smiled, and kissed him once more. "I promise, baby," he whispered. "I promise."


	22. Making Memories

**Basis:** G1

**Pairings:** ProwlxJazz, HoundxMirage

-Video Time!-

Remembering memories via old tapes Prowl comes across.

Uhm... More news, for everyone to hear... :)

I already have the major fluff bunny in my head of the sequel... **O.o** I'll try to start on it asap after this one, but I still have to work on Ancient Memories.

(Also, remember from last chapter, the dates now have "**'Mirage's date' / 'Jazz's date'**", starting at Jazz's Day 7.)

* * *

**Day 19 / 9  
**

"Honey, look..."

"What?"

Prowl pulled out an old box covered with dust and closed his desk drawer back. He opened it, smiling, and pulled out an object that made Jazz's optics widen.

"It's my old camera," he said. "And tapes."

Jazz slowly walked over to him as the little femme continued slurping her bottle. "Well... what's on them?"

"I don't know, they're from eons ago... Why don't we watch them and see?"

"Well alright," Jazz smiled, following Prowl to the couch and main screen in their quarters. After all, they had at least an orn together, with nothing to do except read occasional datapads Optimus required, and Jazz knew Prowl wouldn't go off paternity leave and leave his bondmate with twin sparklings to care for by himself.

"Is Chromix still recharging?"

"Yeah, and I think Metallica's getting pretty tired too," the saboteur replied softly.

Prowl sat down on the couch next to him after he started playing the first tape. Bumblebee popped up on the screen, giggling right at the camera.

_"You don't need to record it,"_ the minibot said on screen.

_"Why? It was really cool!"_ Jazz recognized the voice as Sideswipe's.

_"Do it again!"_ he heard Sunstreaker say from the side.

_"Nooo..."_

_"Hey!"_ called a voice from the side, Jazz looking to Prowl as he recognized his voice. The camera turned so it focused on the tactician as he walked towards them._ "Give me back my camera."_

_"Calm down, Prowly, we were just borrowing it..."_

Jazz and Prowl watched as Prowl on screen took the camera away from them, fuzzy images eventually focusing back on the twins. _"Where did you guys even get this? It was locked in my quarters."_

_"Hellooo? I think we can break into the same key pad as our own..."_

Jazz chuckled as they heard Prowl growl at the twins, the camera flicking off as it neared them.

Jazz then popped up, the saboteur looking to Prowl again as he tried to remember when this was taken. _"Smile for the camera..."_ he heard Prowl snicker.

Jazz on screen playfully rolled his optics. _"Would you turn that slaggin' camera off?"_

_"Nope."_

_"Why not?"_ Jazz watched himself stand up and approach Prowl holding the camera. Jazz covered the lens as he giggled, Prowl chuckling back as the camera went black.

Another video popped up with Jazz standing next to Optimus. _"Hi baby,"_ they heard the tactician whisper, Jazz on screen just smirking and covering up the lens again.

Jazz looked down to see his little femme recharging in his arms, cooing peacefully from time to time as they continued to watch the old tapes. Most of them brought back some of their best memories, like the day they joined the Autobots and Optimus had already assigned Prowl as First Lieutenant. Later they saw the tape where Jazz had been made First Lieutenant under Prowl... Both of them thought it was just because Optimus thought they worked well together. One of Jazz's favorites was the tape of their bondage ceremony, both mechs smiling as they remembered exactly the image of how they opened their spark casings and did the minor sparkbond and kissed after saying their vows. They could hear the cheers in the background, remembering and laughing again as they viewed the tapes of drunken Sunstreaker hugging Jazz and not letting go, and how Prowl wiped energon cake on Jazz's nasal ridge and then licked it off with more background cheers. That was a very good joor, they both knew well.

Cycles passed until nightfall as the television flickered in the darkness, Jazz finding himself snuggled up in Prowl's caress as he held their tiny femme.

All of a sudden a tape stopped right in the middle and flipped to the next one, Jazz's optics widening slightly and neutral smiling falling as the image brought back instant memories... ones he preferred not to remember.

There, on the screen, Jazz sat at a booth next to Blaster, one servo holding his energon cube as the other rested upon his largely swollen abdomen.

Laughter was sounding from the whole room, the booth as well, Jazz and Prowl watching as Jazz on screen smiled his beautiful smile. _"Smile Jazz,"_ Blaster chirped as he gestured to the camera, Jazz turning to face it and only smiling wider.

_"Slag it, Prowl... Don't make me take that away from you."_

_"Good luck, Jazzy."_

Jazz silently flickered a small smile as Prowl continued stroking his upper arm. He just watched... remembering those joors, so long ago, when he had first been carrying. He almost felt like turning the television off as he kept thinking about it, but didn't want to leave his lover or be anymore selfish than he thought he was being.

The tape suddenly switched, Jazz watching himself as he walked up and down the hallway, holding his back with one servo as the other rested on his overly-stretched abdomen.

_"Honey, why don't we just go to med bay?"_

_"It's not time yet,"_ he grunted, Jazz's smiled just widening as he looked to Prowl and seeing him chuckle, remembering that joor. _"Why are you even taping this anyway?"_ he heard, and focused back on the tape.

_"Because it's memorable,"_ the tactician replied with a smile._ "One joor you'll look back at this and think, 'Primus, why was I walking when my oil was about to break?'"_

Jazz just sighed a smile as Prowl went on talking to the camera. _"It's been seven joors now, the twins are coming..."_ he said happily. _"And Jazz is too excited to give birth to them."_

_"Yeah, excited. More like nervous as hell."_

Prowl on screen just laughed as the recording stopped, the next tape finally playing. Prowl's faceplate was actually the one to first pop up, and a brightly-smiling one at that.

_"2300 hours... Jazz just had the twins,"_ he said softly, and you could hear Jazz on screen panting in the background. _"Four cycles of labor, but he's finally done. I'm very proud of him."_

He moved the camera so Jazz was in its view, on the med bay berth, Jazz looking and smiling at it. _"Finally done..."_ he panted, sweat still dripping down his forehelm. He caught Perceptor wiping it away with a damp wash cloth, the microscope just sighing a smile as he walked away.

The camera went black, then the image of Jazz holding his tiny sparkling popped up on the screen. He was still in the med bay berth, and sweat was still shining his faceplate as this footage hadn't been taken long after the last.

_"Say hi, baby..."_

Jazz smiled down at his little sparkling, then to the camera. _"Meet little Spinner,"_ he said weakly, the little mech just stretching his tiny arms.

_"And here's his twin,"_ Prowl added as he filmed the mech he was holding in his other arm. _"Site..."_

Jazz sighed heavily as he shifted on the couch. "I'm gonna put her down," he whispered, and stood up and left the room.

Prowl watched him, and slowly turned his helm back as the next video came up. He heard his little sparklings giggling in their arms, recording as Spinner played with the rattle as he cooed in Jazz's arms. He then focused the camera on Site in his own arms, squeezing the rubber ducky in his tiny, weak servos.

_"One joor old,"_ Prowl said softly on screen, Prowl simply smiling to himself as he remembered that joor. He _knew_ Jazz was still watching... he just didn't want Prowl to see him. He could practically feel Jazz standing in the doorway to the sparklings' room, silently watching his first sparklings on the television, forced to remember those memories. He tried focusing on his new sparklings... one whom he was still holding. But it didn't seem to help.

After another giggle, the camera went black. And nothing popped back up.

Prowl stood up and ejected the tape and turned off the screen. He quietly walked back and put the tape up in the box and left it on his desk, turning his helm to Jazz and eventually walking towards him.

"That was the last video I ever recorded..." he finally broke the silence.

"...Why?"

Prowl actually found himself trying to hold back tears. "I just... threw the camera in a box and stashed it away after they... were gone."

Jazz simply smiled. "I remember you were more depressed than I was those first couple joors."

"You're smiling..."

The smiled stayed. "Because I love you."

Prowl smiled back, stepping forward and wrapping his arms around his bondmate and nestling his faceplate in his neck. "I love you too," he sighed.

"You know what?" Jazz spoke after a long while.

"What."

"I think they were worth it this time."

* * *

Prowl fell to the berth as Jazz pushed him, their lips still locked together. The saboteur already had his panel open, trying to click open his lover's as the tactician moaned into his mouth.

"Jazz..." he panted as Jazz got a hold of his erect spike, pumping it, making it hard so Prowl was grunting in pain and pleasure.

Jazz pulled his lips away, only to dive back in for more. Jazz loved how Prowl was such a good kisser... He loved it when they kissed like this. Engulfed in each other... their cool, soft lips meshing together perfectly, their glossas intertwining with one another... All of it was just more to love about his bondmate.

Jazz soon aligned Prowl's spike up with his dripping valve, groaning as he pushed it up deep.

"Jazz!" Prowl moaned, breaking their hot kiss. "This... we - you shouldn't..."

"I don't care... I need it..."

Prowl just panted as Jazz bounced up and down on the thick spike, keening with instant pleasure. "Please... just frag me..."

Jazz shrieked as Prowl pounded him, harder, faster as Jazz demanded him, knowing that by tomorrow he would be weaker than ever. But at the moment he discovered he needed it just as bad...

"Oh... Oh... I-I'm close..."

Prowl smirked and pulled Jazz into another wet kiss as he thrusted deeper, earning a mewl from his lover. He whimpered as he felt a digit enter his own valve, feeling it clench tightly around it, begging for more, panting rougher as two more joined and pounded him senseless.

"J-Jazz... Ohhh... That's it... Harder... _Harder..._"

He keened, whimpering as he focused on his spike hitting soft sensor nodes in the back of Jazz's valve as his own valve was being fragged. He knew he would be pleasantly suffering from a double overload... The thought made him shudder.

Overload hit Jazz like a brick wall, shrieking as he rode and bounced rougher on the throbbing spike. Transfluid gushed out all over Prowl's equipment, the tactician groaning and crying out as his own overload swept through his circuits. He thrusted uncontrollably, the sensation in his valve and kinky angle he was in just making it more intense.

"Primus!" he screamed as another overload instantly hit him, bucking wildly into Jazz as the saboteur's overload began to die off. More transfluid erupted from his hard spike, filling Jazz all the way, making him whimper.

The two lovers just laid there as their overloads finally subsided, panting heavily, praying that they hadn't woken up the sparklings since at the time they were too lost in the throes of bliss to contain their loudness. Jazz just stayed limp across Prowl's chassis, smiling to himself as he was finally satisfied.

"Feel better?" Prowl eventually asked softly.

Jazz weakly nodded. "I think... I'm in love with your 'fluid..."

Prowl just chuckled. "What about the mech who produces it?"

"Oh yeah, him too," he murmured playfully.

After a few more kliks of the peacefully stroking, Jazz leaned up and kissed Prowl again. He shifted so they both laid on their berth, offlining his visor and smiling as Prowl kissed his audio.

"Did you set the energon bars?" Jazz asked after a moment, visor popping back online in panic.

"Yes, baby. They're fine."

Jazz just sighed, knowing that the energon bars would protect his sparklings during their unsupervised night, but it still made him feel uneasy to not be with them. So far they hadn't been acting sick or having symptoms of spark failure... just a little weak, but he and Prowl knew that that was normal. Maybe Ratchet was right this time. There was enough data... More than enough, and his sparklings would make it...

At least any 'Con who tried to attack them would have a hard time getting through those energon bars that encased each crib fully. Mirage and Hound set the same things each night ever since the attack. If they cried during the night, Jazz or Prowl were the only ones who could deactivate them.

He offlined his visor once more and his systems started to fall into recharge, the saboteur barely feeling Prowl's servo smoothly stroke his frame into relaxation. Prowl had his own optics offline, giving his lover one last soft kiss on the helm before he himself offlined for the night.

* * *

**Day 20 / 10  
**

"Shh, baby... you're okay..." Prowl had been bouncing Chromix in his arms for the past two cycles as he hadn't stopped whimpering while everyone waiting in the rec room for Optimus' speech. Jazz held Metallica as he sat at a booth next to the bouncing tactician, finally getting her to drink a bottle.

"Try feeding him," Jazz spoke up softly.

"I did; he won't take it."

Jazz looked back down at the femme as she cooed, her tiny digits gently wrapped around Jazz's as she got halfway through her bottle. "Here," he said after a moment. "Let's switch."

Prowl carefully handed Jazz the mech as he took the femme in his arms, shushing her as she started to cry. "Oh honey," he smiled, tucking her blanket in closer to her and rocking her peacefully. "You're okay, I got you..."

It didn't take long for the tiny femme's big soaked optics to focus on her creator and stop crying, hiccuping tiredly as Prowl just smiled at her. "There," he whispered, bouncing her lightly, urging the bottle's nipple past her tiny cool lips.

Jazz was doing the same, except not bouncing but merely stroking the little mech peacefully. He almost got his tiny mouth open for the bottle, until he started to cry as well.

The saboteur just sighed a smile as he stood up. "I'm gonna go back to our quarters," he spoke to Prowl quietly, the SIC nodding.

Jazz was still so weak that he didn't pay any attention to the looks the other mechs were giving him and the sparkling. He just left the rec room as Optimus walked in, the leader giving him clearance as Jazz told him what he was going to do.

Optimus walked onto the platform as everyone stopped chatting to focus on him. "Mechs," he greeted just as Metallica cooed.

"...And new femme," he added, everyone chuckling as he glanced towards Prowl and the tiny femme he was holding. Optimus just went on with a smile.

"As you know, the new sparklings have arrived, giving us a total of three new Autobots."

Cheers floated through the room, Metallica just whimpering at the sudden loud noise. Prowl smiled down at her to comfort her, the femme relaxing once again as she worked on finishing her bottle.

"As some of you also may know, Megatron is temporarily no longer active. I say temporarily because I personally do not know; With all the millennia we've fought and known each other, I know Megatron does not go down that easily."

The crowd stayed silent as they listened to their leader.

"However, Starscream and many other Decepticons are alive and ticking, and could permit an attack any klik now. Especially towards the new sparklings and their creators."

"How are gonna avoid that, Prime?"

"We will need to provide specific shelters for such sparklings, ones that the Decepticons will never find when they attack."

"How do we know that the Decepticons aren't recording this right now, Optimus?" Ironhide interrupted.

"I have Bumblebee and Cliffjumper inside the vents as we speak, with Blaster and Red Alert monitoring them as well. No Decepticons have been reported."

"Well where do you think we should locate the specific shelters?" Sideswipe called out.

"A few mechs and I have decided that beneath the Ark would be safest. The underground chambers beneath the brigs we made long ago will serve, most likely, but we're still not sure how many more sparklings we will have..."

Silence filled the room again, soft murmurs floating around as Optimus finished. "I know who is who isn't bonded on his ship, mechs. My only demand is if you have a sparkling, do it now, before the Decepticons find out."

Optimus looked to Prowl as he bounced his little femme, watching him smile, knowing he hadn't smiled like that since his last sparklings. He of coursed loved it when all his mechs smiled and were happy... that was just the kind-hearted 'Bot he was. But even when he was with Jazz, laughing and talking to him, he rarely would smile the same warm smile he was right now...

The whispers simmered down, and Optimus spoke up again. "As we're on the topic, I'll tell you now, Mirage is expecting once again."

The murmurs started up again as they looked around the room, but the noble nor Hound weren't to be found. "They are currently in med bay," Optimus replied to their actions. "Ratchet and I thought it best for them to produce another, since femmes are as rare as they are, and Jazz is still fairly weak."

Prowl was now looking up at the semi, smile not nearly as warm. He knew that Optimus and Ratchet thought Mirage should have another sparkling, since his body would try and produce the same data as before. But he didn't want to be a part of their plan, as he himself was busy with his own sparklings and didn't want Jazz to find out so soon.

Tracks wished Blaster was here beside him... but he knew he was still listening from the communications room.

"How long as he been carrying?" someone asked.

"Today is the third joor. Ratchet already knows it's another femme."

Several quite awes left the group just as Jazz walked back in with his recharging mech. "I finally got him to relax," he whispered as he stood next to Prowl, optics still fairly dull from being so weak. The tactician merely smiled back, then telling him all of Optimus' news as Jazz asked him what he missed.

The thought suddenly donned on Jazz that he hadn't seen Mirage since he had the twins... He wanted Mirage to meet them. He thought it would be nice to have someone for each of their sparklings to play with, and that way they could spend more time together as well since they hardly saw each other anymore.

The whole room filled with voices once again, mechs talking to one another about the thought of having all these sparklings, new Autobots, how Starscream would attack... Most would gather around Jazz and Prowl to giggle with the happy femme and ooh and awe over the adorable recharging mech.

"I didn't know they were born with doorwings..." Bluestreak commented.

"Well since we both have them, even though mine aren't as noticeable or large as Prowl's, the data took over. But who knows what his upgrades will let him look like."

"...They're just so tiny," Windcharger smiled widely. "I can't get over how cute they are..."

"Yeah, she looks so much like Jazz," someone else said, everyone looking at the femme and seeing how much she did indeed look like the saboteur. Her bright blue optics lit up her entire light gray faceplate, Prowl softly stroking her smooth jet-black helm. Both the sparklings were black and white in almost the same places, so at the time they could easily get confused with the other, save for Chromix's doorwings. The femme's tiny black servos clenched at Sideswipe's as he played with her, her white arms moving frantically as she giggled like mad. Her gray little pedes barely stuck out of the end of her yellow blanket as she kicked happily, Prowl just laughing as she stuck Sideswipe's digit in her mouth and gnawed on it.

"Oh... ew," he chuckled, trying to gently pull it out as everyone, especially his own twin and her creators, laughed aloud. The sparkling's optics just grew wide as he wiggled it out of her mouth, smile instantly fading as she suddenly looked scared and like she was going to cry.

"Oh no..."

"Way to go, Sides."

"I'm sorry!" he said back as she choked out the tears, Prowl just laughing as he bounced her.

"It's alright, she's just tired," he said, but Sideswipe still felt terrible. She started to wail, writhing in Prowl's arms and clenching her tiny digits at his chassis. "You're okay, baby..." he soothed. "You're alright."

"I'm sorry little femme," the red Lambo said gently.

"It's fine, Sideswipe. They always cry; it's probably from just being tired and not getting what she wants," Jazz spoke.

"That's right," Prowl added as he gave her his own digit, gently tickling her bottom quivering lip until she grasped it. She got it past her o-shaped lips, Prowl just smiling as he felt her soft little glossa wrap around it.

"There. See? She's fine."

"Surely she's not teething yet, is she?" Beachcomber asked. "You know, her denta emerging," he explained to the odd looks.

"Oh, I doubt it, Beachcomber," Prowl replied. "They're much too young. It'll be several joors at least."

"Well I remember Hound's sparkling started about four joors after she was born. But don't twins advance a little quicker than normal?"

"In most cases," Jazz replied very softly. "Like it only takes seven joors of carrying instead of the average eight, and just physical growth and upgrades can go a little faster. But some things stay the same, like denta emerging, and some can even take longer. At least that's what Ratchet told us."

"Hm..." he said, looking over the twin sparklings. "Interesting."

"For instance both their panels are already fully grown," Prowl said as he shifted her blanket. "Singles would be about two and half to three joors to be completely closed."

"That's really cool," Sideswipe smiled as she focused her big optics on him again.

Jazz then left to go to the cooler and pulled out the pitcher. He unscrewed the lid and refilled his mech's bottle with one servo like a pro, telling the others they should be going as he returned to them.

"Yeah, alright, Jazz," they said, Prowl following his bondmate out of the rec room. "We'll see ya later."

* * *

Ratchet turned off the ultra sound and returned it to its storage area, thankful to know that they would have another healthy femme. Hound helped Mirage stand up off the berth, even though being four joors along he wasn't terribly large yet.

"Any names picked out yet?" Ratchet smiled as he washed his servos.

"We've been going over a few... We don't know if we'll do what we did with Glazer and name her once she's here or not."

"Well whatever you want to do... I'm just happy she's healthy," he replied as he walked over to Glazer and handed her an energon candy.

"Thank you!" she yelled at him, optics bright and smile wide. Hound didn't even have to give her a look.

"Just don't choke," he chuckled. "But anyway, overall, I think Optimus will be pleased with such a healthy sparkling. And since Glazer adapted most of the cycling problem, I don't think this one will show much struggle with it."

"Oh good," Mirage sighed.

Glazer started squirming in Hound's hold, the scout eventually having to set her down. She still kept one servo in her mouth as she sucked on the candy, big optics exploring the med bay as the big bots continued to talk. She wandered over to a counter, curious as most sparklings were, standing on the tips of her pedes and barely peeking over the top to see scalpels and knives and tools of all sorts. She picked up a scalpel with her free servo, examining it, then scraping it against the metal counter and making a loud screeching sound.

Hound looked over and gasped, the others turning to look at what was wrong.

"Glazer!" he called as he ran over to her and picked her up, making her drop her candy. "You can't play with that."

"Why?"

"They're not clean," Ratchet said as he took the scalpel away. "And they're very dangerous. You could cut yourself."

"Cut..."

"Yeah, baby. You don't want to be cut," Mirage said, looking at her little scar on her chassis and tapping a digit on it. "It's bad."

Glazer watched everyone for a moment, optics shifting on each one as she processed what they said and remembered her scar, or 'owie' as she called it. She looked down to the floor at her wet blue piece of candy, reaching a servo towards it. "Icky..."

Ratchet picked it up and threw it away and came back with a fresh one. "Here. Now behave yourself," he smiled.

She smiled back and stuck the whole thing in her mouth as she watched the others talk some more and Hound carried her out of med bay, Mirage soon following them.

* * *

"Prowl, what are you doing...?"

"I put new film in my camera," he replied happily. "I'm videotaping you... Making more memories."

Jazz just laughed as he turned so the camera couldn't film his faceplate. "Aww, c'mon, Jaaaazz..."

The sparkling cooed, Prowl walking around so he recorded Jazz bounced the little mech. "_Please_ say hi..."

Jazz sighed. "Hi," he giggled.

"Thank you."

"Now will you put that thing away? Or is this gonna be like last time?"

"...I think this is gonna be like last time," he teased.

"Fantastic..."

Both mechs just smiled, Prowl giggling as Chromix didn't take his optics off the lens. His big bright optics focused intently on it, smiling here and there as Jazz tickled his neck and little lips.

"Say hi, Chromix," he whispered to him.

He just let a huge smile stretch across his pretty faceplate as Jazz continued to bounce him. Prowl chuckled to himself, and eventually turned off the camera as their little mech's optics started to dull in exhaustion.

Prowl put the camera down as Jazz walked into the sparklings' room and sat down in the rocker. "Honey, let me take him... you need to recharge. Desperately."

"I'm fine, Prowler," he whispered back as he continued to sit in the rocker as he coaxed the sparkling into recharge. "You go. I'll be there in a minute."

Prowl just sighed and smiled as he walked over to him. "Baby, _please._"

Jazz looked up at him, eventually smiling, thinking how overprotective he would be to them their whole lifestreams. How overprotective he _already_ was of Jazz... He seemed to get that way the more he bonded to someone, especially in the physical state.

"Fine," he sighed, standing up. "Thank you."

"Just get some recharge," he replied coolly. "That's how you can thank me."

Jazz smirked as he walked out and crashed on the berth. He immediately offlined his optics, and when Prowl walked out just kliks later, Jazz was out like a light. The tactician merely smiled as he laid down next to him and wrapped his arm around him, kissing his helm softly and offlining his own optics. "Goodnight, baby," he whispered, listening to Jazz's soft cycles of air fade gradually as he sank into recharge.


	23. I Bonded You For a Reason

**Basis:** G1

**Pairings: **RatchetxIronhide, ProwlxJazz, WheeljackxPerceptor, (smallish HoundxMirage)

More slash in this chapter... Sorry I haven't been doing that a lot lately. **:/** Oh well. You've survived so far.

Friendships are keeping touch... Relationships are improving...

Ending I like... We'll see what you guys think. :P

Um, news about the 'Cons is 'splained...

Other than that, thanks again for reviews and faves and such! Hope ya guys like ;)

* * *

**Day 21 / 11  
**

Ratchet walked into the empty med bay very slowly as his systems still onlined. He stopped in the middle of the room and just looked around, one servo on the back of his helm as he thought.

All the images he'd ever seen in the past few joors... Mirage pregnant, Mirage having the sparkling, Mirage and Hound holding the little sparkling... _Jazz_ pregnant, _Jazz_ having twin sparklings, Jazz and Prowl holding their tiny, tiny sparklings... All the memories of eons ago, where sparklings were as common as energon... he remembered them all. Now they were rare... so rare, even more so than femmes. He still remembered, clear as a bell, Jazz's first split-sparks, and how his faceplate lit up like that when he first held them. His faceplate when Ratchet had to tell them they wouldn't make it... His faceplate, full of pain and streaming with tears, when he and Prowl held their little servos as they slipped away...

Ratchet looked over to the berth that they had been hooked up to when they died. It still stayed there... the medic never used it ever since their death. Dust collected over the surface, and he would still clean off the cobwebs every now and then but that was it.

He remembered how Blaster and Tracks had tried for a sparkling... Everyone, including the medic, gave them clearance and was excited for them, but after four attempts, Ratchet eventually discovered and had to tell them that Blaster couldn't sparkmerge. No matter how perfect the merge was or how much data was given, the systems wouldn't allow the merge to connect to its reproduction chambers. It would be by some miracle the poor boombox would get pregnant.

He turned to his quarters, knowing Ironhide was still recharging in there. He still remembered all the times they talked about having a sparkling... They still could. Ratchet was older than most, but he had a _long_ ways to go before he was considered _too_ old, too old for a sparkling. Ironhide still brought it up frequently, and some times Ratchet would listen and other times he would just shoo his bondmate away to quit talking about it. He loved Ironhide, and he wanted a sparkling _sooo_ badly... but he still wasn't sure if the timing was right. He knew Optimus said if you were going to have a sparkling, do it now, but Ratchet wasn't sure if he agreed to that.

But the more he thought about it, the more he wanted one.

He turned back to glance around the med bay. He could handle it, he thought. Ironhide would be a good fatherly figure. A great one. He knew the warrior was a tough one, but he still wanted a little sparkling to take care of and love as much as he did Ratchet. And Ratchet knew it. He felt the same way.

What would be so wrong if he had a sparkling now? Jazz just did... But a lot could happen in eight days. By the time he gave birth to him, the Decepticons could be attacking.

Apparently Optimus thought it was safe. And if Optimus said it was safe to have a sparkling, then Ratchet was suppose to give the mech clearance. And be happy about it.

Oh, the thought made him happy alright... A big smile stretched across his tired faceplate, deciding he would have a sparkling. When? He wasn't sure... tonight? Tomorrow? In a few joors? _Right now?_

He turned back to his quarters, and soon found himself walking towards them. _*What am I doing?*_ he asked himself as he stopped in front of the doorway.

_*I'm going to have a sparkling,*_ he answered. _*I'm going to.*_

He stepped inside and noticed how Ironhide was already online as the doors shut and locked behind him. The warrior just smiled as him.

"Ironhide..."

Ironhide's optics widened slightly in curiosity as the medic neared him. "Ratchet?"

Ratchet crawled over him and sat on his pelvic plating with a leg bent on each side. "I'm ready."

"Ready for what, Ratch?"

Ratchet leaned down and kissed him so softly. "A want a sparkling."

* * *

Prowl just shushed his sparkling comfortingly as he wailed, his tiny digits clenching as he writhed in fear. "Baby," he whispered, kissing his little helm. "Shhhh... honey, you're okay..."

He only continued to cry louder as Prowl walked up and down the hallway with him. Jazz soon walked out of their quarters, carrying their femme as she peacefully sucked her bottle. Jazz just smiled at his lover as he walked back to him, the sparkling still crying loud enough to wake the dead.

"Wanna switch?" the saboteur offered.

Prowl just sighed. "You do seem to have a better touch than I do," he smiled, and they switched sparklings.

"Mother's touch," he giggled back. "I win."

The tactician just smirked and planted a soft kiss on Jazz's helm. "Thanks."

"C'mon, he'll stop by the time we reach the rec room," he replied. "Mirage is waitin'."

"And Optimus as well."

"Why him?"

"He wanted to see his second- and third-in-command's sparklings," he answered as they walked. "He's extremely proud, especially of you."

"Pffft... Well tell him thanks."

"You'll get to tell him yourself here in a klik."

Chromix had finally reduced the wailing to slight whimpers as they entered the rec room. Jazz saw Mirage wave to them, and the two made their way towards the noble.

"Finally," he smiled. "I get to see you and the sparklings."

Jazz sat down across from his friend with a warm smile as Glazer giggled back at them, bouncing in her highchair as Mirage tried to get her to actually swallow her solid energon. He shoved another spoonful in her smiling mouth as she squealed in excitement, giggling as more than half just ended up on her tray and around her mouth.

"Meet little Chromix," he said softly, his big, wet optics glowing into his. "And his twin, Metallica."

"Awww... By Primus," he sighed. "I can't believe how adorable they are... and how much they look like you!"

"Yeah," Jazz giggled. "Chromix is like a mini Prowl." The tactician just smirked.

"And Lilac here is like a mini Jazz."

"Lilac?"

Prowl just smiled as he started the story. "Yeah, in med bay, after Jazz just had the twins, he was so weak that his words began to slur."

"I kept saying Metallica's name, but it started coming out sounding like 'Lica', and eventually 'Lilac', so I'm told," Jazz finished.

"Oh wow that's funny," Mirage giggled.

"I still think it is. But so now we call her Lilac, also because there's a lot of purple on her back," the saboteur explained, Prowl shifting the femme so Mirage could see her backstrut.

"Oh wow," he said, knowing a sudden color pattern like that wasn't considered normal. Especially with split-sparks. "That's really interesting..."

"Ratchet said to not worry about it, and it would probably go away on its own. Its not unhealthy; he refers to as a 'birthmark', like humans have."

"Oh, right, okay," he replied coolly as he scooped another spoonful of the solid energon and teased it against Glazer's lips, only making her giggle even more hysterically, until she finally swallowed the last bit and opened her mouth. "I wonder why purple..."

"Who knows," Prowl answered. "Jazz's blue, maybe... Ratchet thinks maybe since purple is a more feminine color, and the data just went with it."

"I think it's pretty. And Lilac suits her well..."

"Thanks," Jazz replied as Glazer keened a large smile. "How's Glazer doing?" he asked after a while as Mirage finally got the entire spoonful into her mouth.

"She's doing great," he answered. "A wild little thing... Never wants to sleep or eat. Always playing and laughing. Drives Hound and me nuts, but we love her anyway," he teased.

"Well... considering she's part Noble..."

Mirage just shot Jazz a playful look of watch-it-or-I'll-kick-your-aft, Jazz just laughing in reply.

Glazer suddenly choked as she swallowed and started to talk, coughing up some of the energon, Mirage taking the nearby washcloth and wiping it off around her smiling lips. "Sparkins!"

"That's right baby," he said calmly as he set the cloth down and scooped up another bite. "New sparklings. Just like you."

"They small," she said, optics so big they looked like they would pop out of her helm.

"They're _very_ small," her creator replied. "They're twins."

"Twins!"

"Yeah," Jazz smiled. "Maybe when they're older you guys can play together."

Glazer just giggled more at that answer. "Okay!"

Prowl chuckled to himself at how much little Glazer had grown. He thought the last time he saw her was when he visited Hound and she was still in the tub, while Mirage was still in med bay. Even then he was impressed by how smart she had become. Prowl shifted Metallica's blanket after she had wiggled out of it as Optimus walked in. He immediately spotted the three creators and walked towards them, a giant smile shining under his face mask.

"Oh, hello sir," Jazz greeted.

"Hello Jazz... Prowl, Mirage," he smiled back. "I haven't gotten a chance to see my top officers' sparklings yet."

"Well here they are... healthy and happy."

Optimus looked down into that beautiful femme faceplate, her big blue optics shining right back into his. The semi just chuckled as he looked to the adorable mech, peacefully snuggled in Jazz's arms as his digits still clenched at him from time to time. He took a glance at Mirage's sparkling, smiling when Mirage got another successful spoonful into her giggling mouth.

"Hi!" she muffled cheerily towards the tall big bot as she worked on swallowing.

"Hello," he smiled back, the others just chuckling.

"They really are something," he finally said. "I'm very proud. Of all of you."

"Thank you sir," Prowl smiled.

"It's amazing how much they resemble you both..."

Jazz chuckled softly. "Thanks, Optimus. Their upgrades will look a lot different, but overall they'll have their original look."

Optimus hummed in agreement. "Well thank you for letting me see them," he spoke. "I must be going though. Have a nice joor, mechs. And congratulations."

"Thank you Optimus," Jazz repeated as their leader walked off, and Chromix started to whimper again. "I actually think we better go too... I think they need a nap," he teased. "We're turning grumpy..."

Mirage giggled to himself as he scooped up the last of the solid energon and gave her one last big spoonful. "Alright, Jazz. Thanks for meeting me... it was good to finally see you again!"

"You too, Mirage," he smiled back as they stood up. "We'll have to meet up again sometime if I don't see ya around base."

"Bye Mirage," Prowl spoke happily.

"Bye guys. Good luck," he teased, giving Jazz one last friendly smile as they left the rec room.

* * *

Ratchet was practically dripping with sweat as he panted harshly, Ironhide doing the same as he took the medic from behind. Two kinky overloads in a row had made him tired, but at the same time only raised his arousal towards his bondmate.

Ratchet squeaked as Ironhide hit the same internal sensor node repeatedly, the medic groaning as his elbows and knees almost gave out and would make him crash to the berth. He bucked wildly as Ironhide reached down and began to stroke his erect spike, pumping it harder as the CMO just moaned louder and panted rougher.

"Ooohhh..." the warrior gasped, finding himself thrusting rather hard into his lover as he spread the medic's legs wider. "I-I'm... close..."

"You... You're there..." Ratchet just chuckled.

"Eghh... yeah..."

And with that, Ironhide had Ratchet keening as he thrusted wildly, overloading _hard_ as his spike erupted with transfluid and filled Ratchet all the way. The medic just gasped and sank to the berth as he overloaded, bucking into the berth as they moved perfectly in sync to their love-making.

Ironhide nipped his neck playfully as he finally came to his senses. "Primus..." he sighed, panting still. "You're too good..."

"You say that every time," he teased, and turned his helm to kiss him on the lips.

"It's 'cause ya get me every time..."

Ratchet panted a smile. "That's three, 'Hide. Ready for a big one?"

"I think you're the one conceiving... Are _you_ ready for a big one?"

Ratchet just smirked kinkily as he shifted onto his backstrut as Ironhide kissed his neck once more with passion. He swayed his body to move with Ironhide's, almost like a passionate dance as they made love. Ratchet loved it.

"I'll take that as a yes..." the warrior sighed, and gently thrusted his spike once more.

* * *

"That's it, Jazz, nice n' slow..."

"I'm goin' as slow as the treadmill'll go, 'Jack. If I went any slower I wouldn't be walkin'."

Wheeljack just smiled under his face mask as he turned back to the monitors. "You're doing good so far. I just don't want you to take it so hard first off."

"I'm fine, Wheeljack. Quit your worryin'."

"You expect us not to worry when you nearly passed out in med bay from being so weak and losing so much oil and energon?"

Jazz just sighed as Perceptor upped the pace one notch. "And that's why Ratchet has me doing these exercises. To build my strength."

"And you definitely need it," Perceptor chimed in. "You're starting to wobble already."

The saboteur looked down and noticed how he indeed was losing his balance. He started to walk faster to keep up with the pace, but it just made his walking more uneasy so Perceptor lowered it back down.

"We'll take it one step at a time," the scientist spoke. "Before you know it you'll be up and running wild just like you used to."

"We'll see about that," he teased. "I admit we're both fairly young, but split-sparks'll sure drive some energy outta ya..."

"If you keep calm and at this pace, you'll be fine."

Jazz kept walking on the treadmill at its lowest pace for a while. He eventually got Wheeljack to agree for him to listen to music while he did so. The various bands and sounds ran through his processor for the rest of the time, the saboteur barely noticing how his walking was improving as he mouthed the words of the songs. Perceptor even upped the pace as he wasn't paying attention, and he still was doing just fine.

"Jazz!" someone suddenly called, and the saboteur surprisingly heard them through the loud noise. He stopped the music as he noticed Prowl holding both sparklings.

"There's an emergency officer meeting," he went on as he walked towards him. "I need you to watch them."

"Alright, calm down," he said playfully as Perceptor turned off the treadmill so Jazz could step off. "I'll take 'em."

Wheeljack grabbed the mech as Jazz took the femme. "Thanks," Prowl murmured through a smile as he turned to leave, rushing out the door and down the hall.

Chromix immediately started to cry as Wheeljack held him, the poor scientist wondering what to do except bounce the thing. Jazz just chuckled as he handed him the femme, who was still recharging thankfully, and took the wailing mech.

"He probably was just startled out of his recharge state," Jazz explained. "It's alright." He simply bounced and shushed his little mech soothingly, murmuring soft peaceful words into his tiny audio until he eventually simmered down. Jazz smiled at him, wiping his big tears away and kissed his wet little cheek.

Wheeljack sighed to himself, and then laughed. "I never was good with sparklings..."

"Why's that?"

"I don't know... I always felt awkward around them. I never knew what to do except hold them, or occasionally deliver them."

"Well... You're doing a fine job now," Jazz smiled, watching the Lancia stroke her little helm as he spoke to Jazz. He gently started to rock her from side to side without even realizing it, and stopping once Jazz had pointed it out.

"You don't have to stop," he smiled again. "You're a natural."

Wheeljack merely scoffed. "A natural. Right."

"When was the last time you saw _me_ with a sparkling, Wheeljack?" Perceptor asked.

"Um..."

"_Never._ The last time I held a sparkling was when I was a youngling myself... I believe my creator just had my brother then. I got to hold him, but after that I never did."

"I didn't know ya had a brother, Perce..."

"He... is somewhere else now. Bonded I believe. We never keep in touch anymore... I doubt he's even still alive with the war and destruction on Cybertron."

"Aww..."

"Don't feel sorry for him. He was a slagger. Spent all his damn time getting drunk and interfacing."

Jazz looked to Wheeljack and they snickered at the same time. Who knew Perceptor had such a way with words...

"Point aside, sparklings and I just don't go along well."

"Well what if you guys wanted to have one yourself?"

The two scientists were quiet for a moment, and looked to each other. Wheeljack soon chuckled, Perceptor just shaking his helm. "A sparkling..." he murmured. "Of our own?"

"Yeah!" Jazz exclaimed. "You've only been bonded for _how many_ solar cycles now? Don't tell me the idea of havin' a sparkling never crossed your processor."

"Well... It did actually," Wheeljack spoke up as Perceptor turned to a monitor. "But Perce here just doesn't want one."

"You're not exactly begging for one either..."

"I know... but, look at 'em..." he sighed. "They _are_ kinda cute..."

Jazz just giggled as Perceptor rolled his optics. "Wheeljack, please. You know I would never agree to even carry a sparkling. We don't even interface that often."

"We could..." he teased, the microscope just giving him a look. "It wouldn't be that bad. And he'd be _your own_ creation, Perce. How bad could it be?"

Perceptor sighed and turned around to glare at Jazz. "See what you've done? Now he's never going to stop."

Jazz just laughed aloud as Chromix cooed. "Aw, c'mon Perceptor. Wheeljack's right... Your own creation is _so_ much different than just a random sparkling... even your own siblin'. _Listen_ to him."

"I'm not having a sparkling," he declared in almost a scoff. "I'm not getting pregnant, and I'm not getting Wheeljack pregnant."

The two just laughed some more as the microscope went back to typing at the main monitor. Jazz looked to the giggling scientist, smiling wider as Wheeljack winked at him.

Looks like another new sparkling would be coming soon.

* * *

"Sorry I'm late, sir..."

"That's alright, Prowl. Take a seat. We were just getting started."

The tactician sat down in the first lieutenant's chair next to Optimus Prime, noticing how only a few mechs were present for this meeting. Prowl knew it must be top-secret to only have himself, Optimus, Red Alert, and Bumblebee at the meeting, and Jazz too but he obviously couldn't make it.

"I have received some... interesting news lately," their leader started off. "I decided it would be better to let my highest officers hear before I announce it to the whole Ark." Optimus quickly gestured to Prowl. "And I'm sure you will let Jazz know before as well."

Prowl simply nodded.

"Very well. Bumblebee and Cliffjumper returned from their mission today for word of the Decepticons, and have told me that Megatron is still alive and ticking. However, there has been frequent and recent action of use of the spacebridge..."

"Frequent?" Red Alert spoke up. "How frequent?"

"The Decepticons have been traveling back and forth for several joors now, and transporting material as well. We have word that they are planning on moving to a different location."

"Where? _Cybertron?_" Prowl scoffed. "Why just give up on Earth all of a sudden?"

"I was wondering the same thing... I asked Telatraan-1, and he said the Decepticons might be planning on destroying Earth _from_ Cybertron to demolish the _entire_ planet."

The room paused for a moment. Destroy the whole planet from Cybertron? Why...? Wasn't it the Decepticon's plan to rule the planet in the first place? Not _destroy_ it... What good would that do? Everyone wondered the same exact things.

Bumblebee actually broke the silence first, even though he had been the one to retrieve this information. "So... What good is it to them to _destroy_ Earth? I thought they wanted to _rule_ it... For power."

Optimus sighed, and eventually replied to everyone's focused looks. "The amount of energy on this planet is... phenomenal. If I do know Megatron as well as I think I do, then he doesn't care about ruling at all. He wants energy, and energon. The amount of energy Earth would release would _easily_ be enough to create two Cybertrons, let alone _restore_ the one we have now."

"So, what are you saying Optimus?"

"I'm saying the reason they haven't been attacking is because their next will be their last."

Everyone was silent, watching Optimus twiddle his digits against the datapad, listening with wide optics as he finished. "We're going to Cybertron."

* * *

"Wheeljack, _stop..._"

"Just listen to me, Perce!" the scientist exclaimed. "Just _please_ think about it. Listen to what I've told you."

Perceptor just looked over to his bondmate once more, a thoughtful look on his faceplate as he sighed. "Wheeljack - "

Wheeljack walked over to him slowly and wrapped his arms around his waist. "Think about it..." he whispered. "For Primus' sake, just relax, and _think_ it over."

The microscope's faceplate sank at the words, a very small smile eventually creeping across it. "You know I have, Wheeljack. And you know I have no intentions on getting pregnant or having a sparkling. You know it would cause me to get sick anyway."

"Perceptor, that's a small price to pay for something so wonderful," he smiled back and let go. "A sparkling... Our own little sparkling, Perce. Think about how happy you'd be."

The red mech merely scoffed. "Happy. Right. I will most certainly be happy when giving birth to him..."

"Small price to pay," he repeated.

"What did I tell you? I can't even _hold_ a sparkling without feeling awkward."

"And what did _I_ tell _you?_ He'll be your own little creation... you won't feel awkward. I guarantee it."

Perceptor just sighed heavily and stopped typing at the monitor. He turned around slowly, and after a moment he spoke again. "...I can't."

"Why not, Percy?"

"I just... don't think... I'll be able to handle it."

"That's why there are _two_ creators," he chucked.

"I mean... You know how sensitive I am. The sparkling would just make me very sick... and I don't even know if I _could_ give birth to one. What if my chambers don't allow it?"

This time Wheeljack sighed, and waited a moment before he spoke again. "Perceptor... Ratchet is your friend. We'll both help you... You know that. If you get sick, you and I make the best cures on the Ark. If you have trouble going into labor, Ratchet and I know by spark how to do Cesarean section. Don't borrow trouble... Think about the positives."

Perceptor just turned back to the monitor.

"Honey," Wheeljack smiled. "Please. Give it a chance."

The scientist just stared at the back of his lover's helm for the next few kliks as Perceptor typed away. It was almost as if the microscope was ignoring him... All Wheeljack wanted was a sparkling, and even _he_ thought it would be awkward. But the more he though about it, the more he wanted a little creation of his own. He knew Perceptor wasn't ignoring him... he knew he had thought about it before. He just wished that he would at least just think about it... Give it some thought. Say yes...

Perceptor turned around after a moment, another sigh slipping past his lips. "Just... let me think about it. Alright?"

Wheeljack nodded with a bright smile.

"But don't get your hopes up," he added after Wheeljack's expression.

"I know... I know."

Perceptor only smiled as he shut down the monitor for the night. He walked past him and muttered a soft "goodnight" to the scientist.

"Goodnight? It's only 9:30."

"I need to recharge," he replied as he continued walking to their shared quarters. "I also need to get up early in the morning."

Wheeljack's helm sank a little into his shoulders as he watched his bondmate walk off. He wished they were more... just a little more... lovingly intimate. Sexually even. Like they actually loved each other. This is how it usually was... Perceptor would act like they were nothing but friends, except the fact that they shared a berth. And now that Wheeljack thought about it, he considered himself lucky to even do _that._ Perceptor had of course agreed to bond to him, but after that day, it was like it never happened. He was too... serious... all the time. And the more he thought about having a sparkling, the more he wanted one, but it seemed like the more he wanted one the more Perceptor would never agree.

After staring at the empty doorway for another few solid kliks, he exhaled heavily and decided to follow the mech. He stopped at the side of the berth, and just looked at Perceptor as he laid there in the darkness, the thin blanket covering him and waiting for it's other half. The microscope stayed still against the wall, laying on his side, Wheeljack eventually slowly laying down on the opposite side and facing the other way.

Another good ten kliks passed before Wheeljack turned on his other side, and just stared at the back of Perceptor's helm. He opened his mouth to speak, several times, but each time just let out the inhaled air.

"...Perceptor..."

About an entire klik passed before the microscope murmured a noise in reply.

Wheeljack huffed a small breath before he began speaking again. "How... do I know... you still love me...?"

Silence filled the room once more, enough to actually make Wheeljack nervous. He watched as Perceptor did nothing, said nothing, as if the mech had just suddenly died, right there in their berth at his words of doubt and slight frustration. He stayed still himself, wondering what his bondmate was thinking right now... at those words. _Did_ he love him? he wondered... the thought made him worry. What if the question made Perceptor realize he _didn't_ love him? Why he was in this berth with him? Why he even bonded to him?

"What?"

The single word made amounts of relief flood through the scientist's circuits like he'd never felt before. He didn't want to repeat the question... he didn't want to take that risk again. But he couldn't ignore his bondmate... that might make it worse.

_*Oh, you're so paranoid...*_

"I-I asked... how do I know you love me?"

The red mech again did nothing... made no noise. After another good klik of intense staring at the back of his helm, Perceptor eventually slowly turned to his other side so he faced Wheeljack. He just had his optics locked on his... their optics focused on nothing but each other's.

"What makes you think I don't?"

"...Do you?"

Perceptor paused once again as he looked over his bondmate in the darkness, processing his worried whispers. He slowly parted his soft lips to speak, and more whispers fell through.

"Yes..."

"Yes?"

Perceptor's lips gradually closed and formed a small smile. "I bonded you, didn't I?"

"I proposed to you... We were great friends. How do I know you don't see ourselves as anything more than that?"

Perceptor took a light breath and let it out. "Wheeljack..." he started so softly as he placed his servo on Wheeljack's cheek plate, just before his helm fin. "I accepted your proposal because I loved you."

"You think we're nothing more than friends... Except the fact that we share a berth, we do nothing else. Like we're not even bonded. The last time we even _kissed_ was... eons ago."

Perceptor watched as Wheeljack's optics fluttered downwards after a while. He just gently, very slowly, stroked his thumb against his cheek plate, letting the others just brush against the fin, allowing a tickle here and there. He thought about his words... and realized he was right. He couldn't remember a kiss after that night they had been traveling to Cybertron... and Primus knows the last time they interfaced.

He merely smiled to himself as he clicked open Wheeljack's face mask to reveal his scared lips. His digits floated towards them as the Lancia's optics fluttered back up to his, ever so gently touching the first small scar he came across. His lips were still the cool metal they'd always been... even after hiding behind that mask for how many years. His thumb swept across the bottom lip, feeling it, touching it as Wheeljack studied his actions.

"I love you," Perceptor whispered so quietly, Wheeljack had to read his lips to understand him.

And then he smiled, finally, as Perceptor leaned in with offlining optics, parting his soft lips as he pressed them to Wheeljack's. The contact immediately sent those butterfly things everywhere inside them... Wheeljack loved the feeling. He offlined his optics to enjoy it, to enjoy his bondmate... his lips, something he hadn't felt on him in ages... This kiss... was amazing.

That addicting, lovely suction sound made it complete as Perceptor soon pulled away, slowly, both mechs onlining with a peace they hadn't felt in ever.

"Thank you," he whispered after a moment, staring into Perceptor's optics with lust.

The mech said nothing in reply... Just another smile mirrored his bondmate's.

"I'm so sorry you felt that way, Wheeljack," he eventually spoke. "I didn't know... you excepted something different."

Wheeljack just smiled, Perceptor loving the sight of those lips he never saw actually smiling.

"I guess I'm just too... serious," he finished.

"No, Percy," he sighed. "You're not too serious. Just... too smart."

The microscope actually chuckled. "You're one to talk."

"I remember when we did interface," he went on with a smile. "You were the kinkiest mech I ever had. And you more than likely still are, considering it's been forever."

Perceptor just smiled as those helm fins flashed bright purple in the darkness, knowing exactly what he was talking about. Those days, right after they had just bonded, he remembered their interfaces clear as a bell. He could practically feel his valve as it clenched and moved like it did, swaying with Wheeljack's spike as they made passionate love on those humid Cybertronian nights or cold mornings. Both mechs were smart, and both knew it too... so smart, that they knew _exactly_ what to do to have the most kinky sex anyone could experience. They knew the _tricks_... The thought made Perceptor's processor spin with memories, filling him with arousal and lust for his bondmate. He brought a servo up to his forehelm and wiped away what sweat he could already feel coming.

Maybe it was because he found himself leaning against the back wall with Wheeljack in front of him, his spike thrusting faster and deeper as Perceptor gasped with each one.

"Wh-Wheeljack..." his vocals choked, trying to keep his panting under control. But he found it nearly impossible as Wheeljack thrusted at _just_ the right angle... remembering _everything_ about their kinky sex. Perceptor flexed his valve walls tightly, finding the right rhythm to move back and forth with his movements so they felt nothing but pleasure and passion.

"So much f-for recharging," he panted again, hearing a deep, lustful chuckle from his lover.

Wheeljack sighed a smile as he got a squeal out of Perceptor, groaning himself as his spike hit multiple sensor nodes and stimulated the tip as well. He thrusted harder as Perceptor demanded him, moaning with pleasure as Perceptor brushed his digits into his doorwing hinges and against his sensitive helm fins.

"Harder!" he called again, both gasping as that spike was so erect they could almost feel it throbbing as he pounded him intently. The microscope just let out squeaks and gasps, grasping onto Wheeljack as he jerked faster with his movements, back and forth... Oh Primus, he knew this would end too well...

He soon had Perceptor bucking wildly, not even in sync anymore as they sank further into the berth. Perceptor locked his optics onto Wheeljack's, feeling his hardened spike bring him home to the hilt for the first time in a _long long_ time.

More gasps escaped past his lips, panting fiercely, short moans breaking lose and intensifying as that spike made him finally overload. He cried out with passion, bucking roughly as too much pleasure rippled right through every circuit, tossing his helm back against the berth lustfully and listening as Wheeljack toppled over the edge as well into an almost-painful overload.

The scientist just groaned, loud and long, huffing Percy's name as he was too far gone to stop thrusting as hard as he could. Soft 'oh's left their lips repeatedly, and soon their overloads eventually subsided.

"Sweet... Primus..." was all Wheeljack could manage without choking on his panting.

"I... can't recall... why we even stopped doing this..."

Wheeljack just giggled as he retracted his spike and fell to the berth. "Who... knows. B-But I missed it... so much..."

"We will... have to do it more often," he teased back as he closed his interface panel.

Wheeljack weakly nodded, barely believing how just twenty kliks ago he had been worried that Perceptor didn't love him anymore, and now they had just fragged the scrap out of each other.

"Can I... recharge now?" he asked quietly but playfully after another moment, optics already dull.

He nodded again with a smile, and gently kissed Perceptor's cheek plate as he managed his breaths again. "Goodnight, Percy," he said, Perceptor just smiling at him.

"Thank you, Wheeljack," he replied softly. "For telling me... And the interface."

"Thanks for understanding," he answered, and after another gentle kiss on the lips, both mechs slipped into recharge together, snuggled up closer to each other than they had been in eons.


	24. Percy's Decision, Sunny's Revision

**Basis:** G1

**Pairings: **WheeljackxPerceptor, RatchetxIronhide, HoundxMirage, ProwlxJazz

Uhm, not much for author's notes; I'm working on ending this story to start on the sequel, but with school starting in less than a week I might be a lot slower at my updates.

*apologizes in advance*

Thaaaat's it I guess. Hope you guys like this chapter, it has more events rather than just the whole thing on one or two mechs/events.

* * *

**Day 22 / 12**

Jazz had been walking at the second slowest pace for the past cycle. After another run of tests, Wheeljack eventually let the saboteur listen to music as he exercised.

Perceptor walked by and caught the scientist's optic, and Wheeljack turned only to find the mech with a slight smile on his faceplate.

"What are you smiling about?" he teased quietly.

Perceptor glanced at him as he booted up a monitor. "Nothing..." he smirked.

Wheeljack just chuckled to himself as he monitored Jazz's actions again. "Ratchet told me some news this morning..."

"And what news would that be?"

"...He's pregnant."

Perceptor's optics widened as he looked from his bondmate to Jazz, thankful he was listening to that awful noise instead of their conversation. "What?"

"Ratchet conceived yesterday morning," he explained. "He's expecting."

Perceptor exhaled heavily as he turned to the monitor. "By Primus," he murmured, not sure if he was happy for his friend or thought it was a bad idea.

"C'mon, Perce. Be happy for him. He was so _happy_ this morning when he told me... I haven't seen the mech this excited since he and 'Hide got bonded. And Primus knows how long ago that was..."

Perceptor chuckled. "I know... I am. I'm very happy for him."

Wheeljack kept his optics glued to Perceptor as he was already recording who knows what into the monitor. Sometimes he thought the microscope just typed unnecessary things for no reason, simply to pass time or get through an awkward moment. He huffed quietly, thinking about last night and smiling slightly under his face mask. What if they had gone further? Done more than one overload? What if they sparkmerged? The thought left his lips slightly agape, and he eventually murmured something to the red and teal mech.

"You could be expecting too..."

"Wheeljack!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry... I'm just... excited. I guess."

Perceptor just sighed as those helm fins stopped flashing, but the pink still flushed his cheek plates. "Wheeljack," he said more soothingly as he walked over to him. He stopped in front of him and sighed, and reached for his servo and tickled the palm. "I said I'd think about it."

"I know... It's just... you take a long time to think about things."

Perceptor only smirked as he returned to the monitor. "I told you to not get your hopes up, 'Jack."

He muttered another soft "I know" once more, and turned back to Jazz.

* * *

"Mommy?"

"Yeah baby."

"What are you doing?"

"Ratchet is looking at the sparkling inside me," he replied softly. "She's still growing, and we have to make sure she's healthy."

"Oh... Is she pretty?"

Ratchet just chuckled to himself. "She's very pretty. Just like you."

Mirage smiled as Glazer giggled, showing off her pretty little denta as her beautiful smile took over her entire faceplate. The little femme just watched as Ratchet moved the small blue ball with a long cord around on her creator's large tummy, and watching as a fuzzy picture of something shifted on the screen.

"Is - Is that the sparkin Mommy?"

"Yeah," he smiled. "There's your little sister."

"What's her name?"

"Um, I don't know yet, baby. What should we name her?"

Glazer watched the screen intently and processed her creator's words. Her little lips stayed parted as she thought, and her sudden squeal made Ratchet nearly jump.

"Teddy!"

"Teddy?"

"Yeah!"

"Why Teddy?" Ratchet asked.

"Um... I don't know," she eventually replied. "Pretty!"

"Well maybe we'll have to talk to your daddy about that," Mirage said playfully. "Maybe we'll decide on a name together. Hm?"

"Okay! I go find him."

"Wait, Boo," he giggled before she escaped as Ratchet put the ultrasound away. "Wait for me, honey. We're not done yet."

"Oh... okay. What are we going t-to do now?"

"It's time for your checkup now, Glazer," Ratchet smiled, Glazer's smile only suddenly dropping. "Don't worry... it won't hurt."

"B-But I don't want a chick... chickup!"

"You haven't had one in a while, Boo. You need them a lot when you're as little as you are."

"No!" she squealed, and made a mad dash just before Ratchet made two quick steps and scooped her up. "NO!"

"You're okay," he soothed, and sat her down on the berth. "I'm not gonna do anything, honey. I'm just gonna look at you."

"You see me!"

"I need to see if you're still healthy," he explained, and tapped a digit softly to her scar on her chassis. "We'll see how well you're healing."

"I'm fine!"

"I know, baby, but Ratchet just needs to make sure. We can't risk anything," he said calmly as he sat down next to her and had her sit in his lap. "You know Ratchet... He won't hurt you."

Ratchet returned to her with a sharp-looking tool, only to have Glazer start to cry. "Oh honey," he chuckled. "Calm down. I'm just going to _look,_ Glazer."

But she only continued to wail as Ratchet attached the large stethoscope to either audio and placed the round end on her little spark chamber. This Cybertronian stethoscope wasn't like human ones, he knew and was thankful for, since unlike human ones, this one didn't absorb every sound to its highest peak. It actually drowned out her screams and cries, and he was only able to hear her rapid sparkbeat, which wasn't that bad compared a normal sparkbeat if she wasn't crying.

"Seems normal to me," he spoke loudly as he put the stethoscope away. "A little faster, but that's just because she's crying."

Mirage bounced her gently as Ratchet did nothing more for the time being. "Look, Boo, he's done! You're okay," he soothed. "He's not doing _anything_ right now. You're _fine,_ baby."

Her screams eventually settled down to worried chokes and whimpers, the noble drying her wet optics and gently wiping the tears away and kissing her helm. "No...!" she hiccupped.

"Look, Glazer," Ratchet smiled calmly as he held up a rubber ducky. "Look what I found."

"Ducky!" she screamed again, and reached for it with all her strength.

"No no, this is _my_ ducky," he said. "It's different from your ducky. But I'll give it to you..."

Glazer giggled and bounced in Mirage's hold. Little did she know he had literally found the rubber ducky just kliks before she and Mirage came to med bay, and the ducky was actually his when he was little. Primus knows why he kept the thing... Maybe for this particular reason. Same reason for all those blankets. The only blankets on the Ark were on all the berths as covers, but he surprisingly found these smaller ones for newsparks.

"If! If... you let me give you a checkup."

Her smile instantly dropped. Both mechs worried she would just start crying again, but the little femme just sat there, staring at the ducky with big wet optics and agape quivering lips.

"Will you let me see how healthy you are?"

Her lips quivered more as her optics floated to Ratchet's, and she eventually nodded. The medic smiled and set the ducky down on the counter behind him as he brought back the sharp-looking tool, Glazer just whimpering and burying her helm into Mirage's chassis.

"Don't worry, this won't hurt a bit."

Ratchet gently tapped the plexor hammer to her little knee, and smiled as it kicked. He tested the other, and got the same result. "Reflexes are almost too good," he teased, and Glazer just turned her head towards him as he turned and replaced the plexor with another tool. He shined the light in her audio, and gently turned her helm to look in the other.

"Follow the light," he said, and watched as the femme's big optics focused on the bright light as he moved it around. "Good," he murmured, and set the tool down as he walked off.

"We done?"

"Almost." He came back with a square device, but just held it as he touched her scar and pressed around her chassis for tension. "Does that hurt?"

Glazer had to think about it for a moment, and finally answered. "A little..."

He hummed to himself as he slowly and carefully placed the machine against her sensitive chassis. "I'm just going to take a picture," he soothed as she whimpered. "Have you ever taken a picture before?"

She quickly shook her head in fear as she heard it boot up and watched the machine with growing optics.

"Do you want to press the button? I'll let you take the picture."

After another moment of just focusing her optics on his, she nodded. Mirage gently petted her helm as she grasped the handheld box, and Ratchet helped her placed her thumb over the right button.

"Alright, now, when I say so, just give the top a tight squeeze, and then we'll look at the picture, okay?"

She actually gave a small smile as Ratchet let go and shifted the machine on her chassis. "Alright... now press the button..."

She did so, and gasped as it made a loud whirring and clicking sound. "Good job," the medic smiled.

Glazer just keened another smiled as Ratchet took the small x-ray away into a tiny dark room. "Good job, Boo," her creator whispered into her audio.

"Now while the picture develops," Ratchet started as he returned to them again. "I'm gonna give you your medicine."

"Medicine?"

"Yeah," he smiled as he turned his back to her and fiddled with something at the counter. He soon turned around, Mirage noticing what seemed like the medic was hiding something behind his backstrut as he distracted the femme with the ducky.

"Look at the ducky," he said, making optic contact with Mirage to distract her and handing him the ducky to hold onto. The noble knew what he was doing... Glazer was oblivious to their actions as she squeezed the ducky with one servo, giggling like her normal self, trying to pry it out of her creator's firm hold.

"Now squeeze the ducky!" he said calmly. "Give him a big squeeze for me..."

He whipped out the needle just as her little servo squeezed tight around the ducky and injected it in between her thigh and hip plating. Glazer squealed in pain as Ratchet told her to "squeeze the ducky!" again, feeling something super sharp jab her little thigh as she squeezed the rubber thing as hard as she could.

"There," he said as he finally pulled out the vaccine. Glazer let go of the ducky and turned to glare at her thigh, placing her little servo over Mirage's as he rubbed it. "All done. You did great."

"Good job, baby."

She said nothing as she processed what just happened. What was that sharp pain she felt? Ratchet smiled at her as he showed her the long needle and empty tube, explaining how this medicine would help her weak chassis and prevent any later sicknesses. She just smiled again like nothing happened when the CMO handed her another energon candy and Mirage finally handed her her new ducky.

"Now Ducky has a friend!" she squealed happily as Mirage kissed her helm.

* * *

"How did we do today?" Hound smiled as Glazer ran towards him, giggling and reaching towards the green mech for Hound to pick her up.

"Great," Mirage smiled back. "Everything's fine, she got her vaccine - "

"Ducky!"

"I _see_ you got a new ducky. Did you earn that today?"

She nodded and keened another big smile, and just stuck the ducky's head in her mouth. She was done 'teething', but it still felt good to just chew and gnaw on things, like most sparklings would think.

"Her injury is healing too," Mirage finished. "The x-ray showed the internal scar was healing, but the outer one will remain for a while still."

He hummed in agreement as he looked to his femme's chassis and tapped a digit on the wound. "She's a tough cookie," he chuckled.

Mirage just gave him a strange but playful look.

"...Some saying Spike said once."

"Ahh."

"But hey, when you were in med bay, did you notice anything strange?" Hound asked as the three sat down in a booth with their energon. Mirage handed Glazer her sippy cup-cube, and she traded the rubber head for the energon instantly.

"Like what?"

"Like... I went there this morning to collect his reports because he'd been really busy, and he acted weird. Like, sick, I guess."

"No... no, he acted fine when we were there."

"...Hmm..."

"Maybe it's that morning sickness," he joked, Hound chuckling with him.

"Yeah, sure," he teased. "Ratchet pregnant."

Mirage chuckled again as he took a sip of his energon. "It could happen..."

"Yeah... _Maybe_ when the war's over. He would _never_ agree to have one this time of state."

"You never know. Maybe he changed his mind."

Hound just watched Mirage as they both sipped their energon, Glazer giggling as she squeezed the ducky so hard it popped out of her grip and onto the table.

"I'll have you know not all mechs you think are virgins _are_ virgins," they heard after another moment, and turned to see what all the commotion was.

"I didn't say a thing, Perce."

"I heard you," he chuckled back. "Don't think you can hid things from me."

Sideswipe snickered as everyone turned to see what Sunstreaker would say next. "Well I doubt _you've_ gotten any action lately..."

"Are you calling _me_ a virgin?"

"What if I am?"

The microscope almost smirked. "At least I'm _bonded,_ you slut. You seek pleasure in whoever you want when you're not sharing your little sex kitten with your brother," Perceptor sneered back, gesturing quickly towards Bluestreak.

At that everyone was smiling hysterically, just _knowing_ the yellow Lamborghini was heating with embarrassment. "B-Burn..." Cliffjumper coughed, everyone else laughing as they waiting for his smooth reply.

"_Bonded,_ right. And who might this _imaginary_ bondmate be?" he mocked, everyone turning back to Perceptor.

Perceptor merely chuckled as he took a sip of his energon, the only reason he even _entered_ the rec room. And by this experience, he'd talk to Prime about getting a dispenser in his lab so he could avoid such future situations.

"...Why, Wheeljack, of course."

Sunstreaker's and Sideswipe's optics widened, along with a few others. Very few mechs aboard actually knew the two scientists were bonded... Sunstreaker's evil smile faded slightly as he realized Perceptor wasn't joking.

"And he is certainly not _imaginary._ But I will assume you didn't know that because you were too busy doing absolutely nothing and wasting everyone's time," he finished.

"No you're not..." he eventually spoke with a look.

"Would you like a bet?"

"Sunny, don't. Just believe him."

"No, no... yeah! I want a bet. I bet you 40 cans of oil you're just making this up to look good."

"And if I'm telling the truth, you owe me 70 cans of oil," he smiled. "...I'm working on another project."

"Deal," he grinned. "Now... how are we going to prove this?"

Perceptor took another sip as he thought.

"Spy on the two?" Warpath suggested.

"_Spy_ on Wheeljack and me?"

"That's right... See how he acts around you. Like you can definitely tell whether someone is bonded or not by the way they act towards that mech."

"No... no... Not enough proof... We need... physical evidence."

Perceptor gasped as he finally thought of something. The others stared at him, waiting to hear what he had to say. It was genius, he thought. Wheeljack would be so happy... He would get what he wanted, even though the idea made _him_ a little nervous. But it would no doubt prove everything... If he was pregnant, that would show them all. But... did he _want_ everyone to know? Did _he_ want a sparkling? Yes... he thought quickly, thoughts racing through his processor wildly. A sparkling... Primus, why couldn't he think like this before? A sparkling would be amazing... a gift. A wonderful thing in his lifestream. Besides, you couldn't sparkmerge without a sparkbond, so if he sparkmerged and got pregnant, everyone would know he was bonded. And once they found out Wheeljack was the 'father', they would know he and _Wheeljack_ were bonded.

The plan was full proof.

"I know how to prove it to you," he smiled.

* * *

"What do you _mean_ we're _going to Cybertron?_"

"Just me and - "

"I don't care! What are you talking about?"

"Jazz, calm down - "

"Don't tell me to calm down! You know how dangerous it is right now Prowl?"

"Yes, honey. I know..."

"Then why the hell are ya going?"

"If you would _just_ let me explain...!"

He stopped, almost waiting for an interrupting remark from his pissed-off bondmate. Jazz merely glared back at him with his bright visor, actually letting him explain this nonsense.

"Baby," he sighed slowly. "Optimus said the Decepticons are making a bomb to destroy the entire planet for energy. They're going to shoot it from Cybertron to demolish the Earth, and use such copious amounts of energy for energon."

Jazz still remained silent for a long while. He found his lips had parted every so slightly as he processed the words... A bomb? To _destroy_ Earth completely? _That's_ why they haven't been very active lately?

"I-Is Megatron... alive?"

Prowl nodded.

"A-And... But why destroy it?" he asked much more calmly. "I thought the main reason they stayed here was to rule?"

"Apparently they're more greedy for energon rather than that privilege."

Jazz sighed to himself. He thought about his sparklings, and how they had slept through all the shouting. What would happen if something happened to Prowl during this mission? How would he deal with the loss, let alone take care of twin sparklings by himself?... Everyone already knew the poor saboteur didn't take loses very well.

Jazz slowly sat down on the berth behind him, and wiped his faceplate with his servo. Prowl sat down next to him and rubbed his backstrut.

"Jazz..."

"What... if somethin' happens to ya, Prowler?"

Prowl just sighed softly to himself. Jazz had every right to worry... Cybertron was probably the worst place any mech could go on a mission. All that outdated oil filling the atmosphere... the scraplets swarming without any pesticides controlling them... the countless number of viruses and diseases one could get simply by touching a piece of rusted metal. Or even a shiny piece of metal. Either way, Prowl had to go, along with the others in defense of humanity. If he didn't make it back, then he knew Jazz would deal with it. He knew Jazz would feel depressed, but not enough to commit suicide when he knew he had twin sparklings who needed taking care of. Jazz wouldn't leave them, even if Prowl did.

"Baby..." he breathed. He stopped again and thought over how Jazz would act if he was right... if he didn't come back. He felt Jazz turn his helm to him to watch what he would say.

"Jazz... Nothing's going to happen."

Jazz sniffled to keeping holding back the tears. "And how do you know that?"

He merely shook his helm very slowly. "...I don't."

The saboteur just watched him, lips now quivering slightly, and eventually turned back to face out in front of him.

"You'll be okay. I know you will."

"You know the only thing that'll keep me from following ya is the sparklings."

Prowl sighed again at that comment. "I know, Jazz," he finally spoke quietly. "I know."

* * *

"Wheeljack."

The scientist turned around as his bondmate entered rushingly.

"Yes Percy?"

"I think... I've made my decision."

"About what..." he muttered as he had already turned back to his project.

"About a sparkling."

Perceptor slightly smiled as Wheeljack stopped suddenly, as if he'd just been struck by an immobilizer. He dropped his tool in shock, and nearly stumbled over loose metal as he turned back to him, optics twice as wide.

"A-And... what's your decision?"

"...I saying yes."

Wheeljack's optics just flickered as joy and excitement suddenly bursted through his circuits. He even made a strange noise that had Perceptor give him a matching look, but couldn't help but smile as he knew his bondmate was overwhelmed with happiness.

"Aw, Primus, Perce, are you serious?"

He just nodded, smiling wider as his helm fins practically lit up the whole room with excitement. "What got you to decide so fast?" he asked.

Perceptor shrugged and explained how a sparkling would benefit them both, and how the more he thought about it the more he _did_ want one. Not just because of the bet, even though he decided not to tell Wheeljack about that.

"And... you're sure...?"

Perceptor nodded and smiled again.

Wheeljack's helm fins just lit up again, the Lancia hugging his bondmate tightly and retracting his mask to kiss him.


	25. You're A Natural!

**Basis:** G1

**Pairings: **WheeljackxPerceptor, HoundxMirage, ProwlxJazz

Yes, there is nursing in here... I thought it would be interesting if Cybertronians could do very similar things as humans like this. Bahahaha :3

Sorry I haven't included much slashy stuff, like interfacing and whatnot... The end (twill not give it away) may be good? Iunno; Hope you enjoy.

Reviews are still awesome to get! Thanks a lot for those who do ;)

* * *

**Day 23 / 13**

"Hey, do you mind if I keep this in here?"

"Keep what..." Wheeljack replied as he turned around. Ratchet held up a pitcher with a smiling faceplate right in front of him.

"I don't want it getting mixed up Mirage's in the rec room."

"Oh yeah, sure, Ratch," he smiled back. "But... um, are you sure you get it mixed up with Perceptor's?"

Wheeljack practically grinned like an idiot as he thought that was, by far, the best way of telling the medic the news. Ratchet's look just made him grin much wider.

"What do you mean Percep - "

He stopped as he opened the cooler to place the pitcher inside, and saw the same thing already there. "Wheeljack..."

His helm fins merely flashed twice at the medic at his large optics.

"Per...ceptor's... expecting?"

The scientist just shrugged and returned to his project. "You'll have to ask him yourself," he teased. His optics shifted down to the medic's swollen abdomen, knowing in just two or three joors Perceptor's would look like that too. It got him excited for some reason.

"Since when?"

"Last night I believe," he said with a smirk. Ratchet playfully rolled his optics at his teasings.

"Well... I'll just keep this in the rec room then," he eventually replied, still a little surprised Perceptor hadn't told him. Maybe they just found out this morning or something. But how would he already be producing trans-energon? Perhaps... oh, he didn't think about it anymore. But didn't Ratchet need to give him clearance? Then again, Optimus said himself go ahead if you were going to, so he figured it didn't matter. "Mirage is due tomorrow anyway."

"Alright, Ratch."

He waved goodbye and gave him his happy congrats as he exited the scientist's quarters.

* * *

"Come on, honey. Don't do this to mommy."

"I don't want - a nap!"

"I know Glazer," he said softly as he kept his servo out for her to take, but she still just stood there with her arms crossed. "But you need to recharge."

She just looked up at her creator with a frown, Mirage's smile just soon making her smile and take his servo. "Good girl."

The noble kept his servo over his very swollen abdomen as the other held Glazer's little one, the two walking through the rec room back to their quarters. Hound was already inside once they got there, so the scout scooped the giggling femme up and sat in her rocker with her to coax her into recharge.

"Daddy?" she asked after a while as she relaxed more in his hold.

Hound looked down at his daughter in the dim lighting, neutral smile and dimmed optics not changing. "Yeah, little Boo."

"Wh - What will be the sparkin's na-ame?"

Hound just continued to stroke her little helm as they rocked peacefully. "Mommy told me you liked the name Teddy."

She keened a loud smile, only to have Hound laugh as he shushed her.

"Well, I love that name."

"You do?"

Hound nodded and kissed the toddler on her forehelm. "I think we can work it out, to give her that name."

"I-Is she going t-to be like me?"

"She will be just like you, Boo," he smiled. "Just as smart and pretty and sweet."

She smiled widely again, Hound just chuckling as he shifted her so she was more comfortable. He reached over to the side table and grabbed her blanket, and wrapped it around her as he finally got her to offline her optics. "Go to sleep, baby," he soothed, rocking her slowly, listening to the soft creaks in between her quiet cycling.

Once Hound knew she was at the point where he could put her down, he stood up slowly and gave her another soft kiss on the helm. He gently lowered her down into her crib, moving her ducky right by her and adjusting the blanket around her.

"Goodnight, Boo."

* * *

Jazz jumped at least a good two feet in the air as he felt something suddenly touch his waist, and nearly smacked the laughing Prowl behind him.

"I'm sorry," he smiled. "I am. I didn't mean to scare you."

Jazz just sighed and couldn't help his own smile as the water continued to pour from the shower head, lifting up his arm to rinse the soap off. "What are you doing?"

"You just seem really tense," he replied as he wrapped his arms around his whole midriff and rocked with him in their private wash rack. "You need some lovin'."

"I have plenty of lovin'."

"Mmmm. Not enough..." he muffled into his neck kinkily.

Jazz just giggled. "Where are the sparklings?"

"Recharging."

"Shouldn't you be watching them instead o' groping me?"

"The energon bars are set. They're perfectly safe."

The saboteur turned around to face Prowl, water trickling down past his lips which were only a few inches from the tactician's. "Kiss me then."

Prowl did so, pushing his cool lips to his bondmate's, feeling his glossa mix with the warm water pouring in. He moaned happily, sliding his own glossa past the saboteur's and tasting him passionately. Jazz tilted their helms to deepen it, deepening the wonderful sensation of a hot kiss he hadn't had in a while.

Crying from out in their quarters made it break, however, both turning to look with smiles on their faceplates. "I'll go see about them," Prowl said softly, and gave him a quick kiss on the lips before he stepped out of the wash rack and dried what water got on him off.

"Shhshhshhhh," he said so calmly as he walked into the sparklings' room and saw Metallica writhing on her side of the large crib. Chromix remained perfectly still, out like a light and completely oblivious to his sister's wailing and thrashing.

Prowl gently picked her up and wrapped her yellow blanket around her, bouncing her softly and he smoothly shushed her. "You're alright, baby... Daddy's here. You're okay."

He turned and spotted the metal pacifier on the side table, and picked it up and urged it against her quivering wet lips. "Here babydoll..."

She stopped crying for a short moment and sucked on the pacifier, but just started up again and tried to pry it out of her own mouth with her tiny servos.

"Oh honey..." he only smiled as she wailed louder, eventually walking out into the main room as not the wake their little mech up. Jazz walked out of the shower, all clean and dry, smiling as Prowl bounced her.

"Here, babe, lemme try nursing her."

The saboteur took the sobbing femme and bounced her as he retracted the metal covering the tiny spigot attached to the side of his chassis. He shifted her in his arms so she could see the small spigot, supporting her helm and the rest of her tiny frail body as her lips finally found the metal and began to suck from it.

Prowl just sighed as he watched her little lips move around the small tube, swallowing the energon just like a bottle. "Why did you want to nurse her?" he eventually asked.

"Well, for one thing, you never washed her bottle..."

Prowl's optics widened a little and he quickly opened his subspace to see the in fact dirty bottle. "Oh... Jazz, I'm sorry..."

Jazz just giggled softly. "Tha's alright Prowler. I was gonna say I think she needed to be nursed anyway. It helps to soothe them."

"It does..." he asked calmly.

Jazz nodded and looked down to the little femme, tiny servos softly clenching at his chassis as she sucked at the tiny 'nipple', as humans said were what they had. The spigot was almost in the same place as a human's, one on each side, and one below each one for a total of four. As a new Cybertronian mother still cycled trans-energon through his or her body, it would remain in the four different chambers waiting for usage until about six or seven joors after the sparkling was born. A lot of creators liked the idea of feeding their sparkling the natural way, rather than just pre-making it ahead of time for bottles. But some mechs didn't like the feel of it or the idea of their energon coming straight from their own body, as some viruses could possibly, but rarely, end up mixing with it. Jazz knew Mirage only nursed Glazer a couple of times for that reason, but he was getting used to it. Jazz himself had never done it before, but living with Ratchet almost his whole life he had seen how it was done before.

The medic had explained to his asking of 'why they did that' by saying that nursing the sparkling could help soothe them. The warmth and energy coming from their own mother's body directly like that would produce positive feelings towards the sparkling, thus calming them greatly and relaxing them. It was also a great and favored way to coax them into recharge.

As Jazz told Prowl what Ratchet had said to him, he sat down in the rocker in their main quarter's section. The two had put one in either room in case they ran into situations like this, or if both sparklings needed to be rocked and calmed down at the same time. Prowl just sat on the small metal ottoman in front of them.

Jazz looked up to Prowl as saw how he just smiled softly as he watched his little femme drink the energon, her wet optics dim and legs only kicking slightly from time to time as a sign of relaxation.

"Does it hurt?" Prowl asked after he noticed continuous faces made by the saboteur.

"No, it just feels funny," he replied with a whisper. "It kinda tickles and she'll suck a little harder when it's almost empty. I should probably switch chambers."

Jazz huffed a smile as she nipped at the spigot, trying to suck out the last drop, but only whimpered as Jazz managed to pull her off and lift her up to flip her around. "You're okay," he soothed as she started to cry again. "You're alright, baby..."

Prowl smiled to himself again as she wrapped her lips around the opposite side spigot and drink the energon again.

* * *

**Day 24 / 14**

"HOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUNNNDD!"

_*Shit, where's Glazer?*_

"Glaz - !"

"She's right here, Hound. I got her," piped up Bumblebee.

"Are you sure she's alright here?"

"Oh yeah, she's fine."

"Just go, Hound!" Ironhide laughed.

The scout gave her one last look as she played in the rec room floor with the yellow spy, hearing her yell a strong "Daddy!" as he turned and ran out with the others... cheering, so he thought. He didn't have time to think about it now.

"Go, Hound, go!" he heard the twins shout at him at he shot past them.

He nearly hit the wall as he turned the corner, running as fast as he possibly could towards med bay.

"HOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUNNNNNNNDD !"

"I'm coming, 'Raj," he said to himself as he could hear the screams as clear as a bell now. He spotted Blaster and Tracks sitting in the chairs in the hallway outside the med bay, also known as Ratchet's little waiting room, but had no time to even wave 'hi'.

"Good luck Hound!" he heard Blaster call, and smiled at them as he slammed on the door and waited for one of the mechs to open it. It swooshed open and Hound jumped inside, Mirage's yells of pain at least ten times greater without the sound barrier. The doors shut behind him, another muffled scream echoing down the hall.

"I'm here, baby," he whispered to him as he knelt down and took the noble's servo, but Mirage just clutched onto it for dear life as Ratchet had him push again.

"NNNNNGGGGHHHH!"

"That's it, 'Raj! I'm so proud, you've done so much already - "

"What the HELL took you..." he keened and scowled in pain.

"I'm sorry, baby, I got the call while I was in the middle of stealth - "

"AAAAAAUUGGHHH SHUT UUUP!"

Ratchet just chuckled as Hound smiled. "Come on, Mirage. Push! _Push!_"

Perceptor wiped his sweaty forehelm with a wash cloth for the fourth time already. Wheeljack fed the highest dose of reliever he currently could through his circuits as Perceptor looked to him, massaging his shoulders and encouraging him along with the others.

"C'moooon... The helm's almost here..."

"_Push_, baby, you can do it..."

He just screamed again, followed by a yelp of sincere pain as he felt the helm expanding his already too-stretched valve as it neared the surface. Ratchet just massaged his digits around the valve faster, encouraging the sparkling into the world, encouraging Mirage as he cried out once more.

* * *

Bumblebee frankly did not know what to do.

The only thing he could think of was to bounce her... That was what he'd seen Jazz and the others do when their sparkling was crying.

But Glazer wouldn't stop screaming; The noise nearly blew out his audios. He just shushed her calmly, stroking her, bouncing her as she only continued to sob and reach out towards the doors, muffling "Daddy!" repeatedly. The image made him feel so bad for her... It almost made _him_ want to cry. Maybe if he did, she would focus her attention on _him_ and stop crying. Of course he wouldn't do such a stupid thing though. Primus, he cracked himself up.

Jazz and Prowl suddenly walked in, the saboteur's smile just widening as he saw Bumblebee bouncing the wailing femme. He walked over to him as Prowl went and sat at a booth.

"Here, Bee, why don't we switch."

The spy looked up at the mech and gave a small smile. "If you could get her to stop crying, that'd be great..."

Jazz just chuckled as he took Glazer in his other arm and carefully handed his own little femme off to Bumblebee. The yellow mech went to sit by Prowl and hold their sparkling as he watched Jazz's actions instantly take affect on poor little Glazer. Like a true mother.

"Oh honey, shhhh," he calmed her as they bounced slightly. "Baaaby, don't cry, Daddy's coming right back."

"W-Want D-Da-addy!" she choked as she sobbed even more.

"I know, but Daddy's coming _right back,_ sweetheart. He'll be back in _just_ a minute. He just had to help Mommy with something." He gently kissed her helm and wiped away her tears, comforting her until her wails were reduced to strangled hiccups. "You're okay, sweetie... You'll be alright."

"Sorry," Bumblebee apologized softly to anyone who could hear him as he watched Jazz cradle the poor femme.

"What are you sorry for?" Prowl turned to him. "You did nothing wrong."

"Sorry I... couldn't get her to stop crying? Heh, I dunno, I just feel bad..."

"Well don't," the tactician smiled. "I'm actually surprised you knew the bouncing technique. A lot of mechs who've had no experience would just let them cry."

"Really? Well... I mean I'm not a creator, but I guess I've just been watching all these sparklings and _their_ creators, like you and Jazz and 'Raj. Especially Hound for a while."

Prowl smiled and looked down to his little femme in Bee's arms. "You're a natural, Bumblebee. Look at her."

The mech looked down as Metallica cooed, pacifier wiggling slightly in between her sweet lips, and found himself holding her against his body like a true creator would. He didn't even notice how he was bouncing his leg up and down, creating a soothing motion technique for the sparkling.

"Not a natural, but thanks," he smirked. "I mean, I've always imagined myself as a creator, and have always wanted to be, but I'm a minibot."

"So?"

"So, I couldn't really carry a full mech's sparkling, could I? And if I had one with another minibot, we'd _all_ be minibots. And I don't really want that."

"I think you could carry a full mech's, Bumblebee. You're not that mini. It'd be a little of a strain, but not much."

"What about _having_ the sparkling?"

"You could always do Cesarean section, but I still think you could manage."

Bumblebee turned back to see how Glazer had settled down in Jazz's hold. He now just bounced with her, slightly, up and down as he swayed lightly in place.

"Do you have a secret bondmate or something?" Prowl teased him.

"Oh, no, Primus, no..." he chuckled. "I just... was wondering. When I was still with my ex on Cybertron, he had talked about a sparkling because we were getting pretty serious. And he was a full mech. An Ensign, actually."

"Of Iacon? Who was he?"

"Sandstorm. I want to say you worked together..."

"Yeah! Yeah, I know Sandstorm... Primus, I had no idea you two were - "

Bumblebee just looked to him and smiled. "It was nice while it lasted."

"Yeah... The war... got him. I'm so sorry Bumblebee."

He simply shrugged. "I guess I'm over him now. Besides, if it wasn't for his death, I probably wouldn't have joined the Autobots."

Prowl smiled just before Jazz walked over to the yellow spy. "She wants you back, Bee," he grinned.

"Oh, okay," he said softly as they switched again. "Thanks for getting her calmed down."

"Oh, yeah, no problem Bee. Happy to help."

It really didn't take long until Bumblebee had Glazer giggling like mad again as they played in the floor. Jazz watched as Bumblebee waved the rattle in her pretty faceplate as she made her two duckies kiss either one of Bumblebee's cheek plates at the same time.

Sideswipe had found some metal blocks in an old storage crate, and divided them in thirds for Glazer, Chromix, and Metallica. Glazer had already knocked down Bumblebee's small castle and had them sprawled out over the floor, but no one seemed to mind.

After another good cycle or so, Jazz nearly jerked Metallica's bottle out of her mouth as the sudden page surprised him. He pressed his digit to his audio, Prowl immediately wanting to know what the news was at his lover's happy faceplate.

"'Raj, I'm so proud of you," he smiled. "Mirage had the femme," he mouthed to Prowl, and the tactician just shared his smile.

"Alright, alright, I'll tell Bee."

Ratchet then ran in and to the stage, all the waiting mechs giving him their attention. "We now welcome the newest Autobot," he smiled into the microphone as a picture of the femme snuggled up in Mirage's arms popped up on Blaster's screen. "Tetris, born at 10:45 AM."

Cheers and whoops erupted through the crowd at the wonderful news. Glazer just squealed as Bumblebee told her that was her baby sister, and how pretty she was just like her.

"Way to go, Glazer!" someone hollered at her excitement, only to have her giggle in Bumblebee's lap and everyone cheer for her as well.

* * *

Hound continued to stroke Mirage's helm as he still cycled slightly heavily, ever so softly brushing the back of his digit over his new femme's tiny cheek plate.

"I really like the name," Mirage spoke weakly. "Glazer will like it too."

Hound smiled and gently kissed his helm. "Thank you," he teased, since he _was_ the one who came up with the name.

He thumped his helm against Hound's chassis as they laid there in the berth, holding their sparkling finally. Hound looked up as Ratchet returned and popped his helm in the door, trying to get their attention.

"Do you mind for visitors? Or not yet?"

Mirage shook his helm and smiled. "No, we're okay for visitors."

Ratchet then stepped inside, with Jazz, Prowl, and Bumblebee with Glazer following. "Hey Mirage!" Jazz whisper-shouted.

"Hi Jazz," he sighed happily.

"Mommy!"

"Hi baby girl."

Bumblebee went around the berth and handed Glazer to Hound, who held her on his lap as she looked over the tiny sparkling. "Is that the sparkin Daddy?"

"Yeah, baby. Here's your little sister, Tetris."

"Teddy?"

"Yeah," Mirage smiled. "We can call her Teddy for short."

She keened a smile and bounced in the scout's lap, only to have him keep her still to not disturb Mommy or the baby.

"She looks just like ya, Mirage," Jazz chuckled, Prowl grinning in agreement. "She's beautiful."

"Thanks," he huffed a wide smile. "And thank you Bee, for watching her."

"Oh, it's not a problem. I love playing with her."

"I still can't believe out of the four sparklings in this room, three of them are femmes," Ratchet chirped as he walked in from the other room. Everyone looked to the sparklings, and soon were laughing along with him.

"That _is_ somethin', isn't it..." Jazz whispered.

"I think it's funny," Wheeljack chimed in and stepped next to Ratchet. "But yours is a mech for sure."

"Yes," he said as the others smiled. "Definitely a mech."

"I almost forgot about that Ratch," Bumblebee spoke softly. "When are you due?"

"Four joors," he replied. "I think time's going by too slow."

"Too slow?" Prowl jumped in. "Great Primus, Glazer's almost past her toddler era!"

Everyone chuckled at that point, but Glazer never took her big optics off of that tiny little sparkling in her creator's arms. She reached out to touch her, Hound worried she might hit the little thing, but eventually helped her so she just gently brushed against Teddy's little cheek plate.

"Sparkin," she murmured.

"She really is a cutie," Bumblebee spoke again. "But my shift starts so I better go."

"Alright, Bee, thanks again for all your help."

"You are most welcome."

"See ya Bumblebee."

"Say 'bye bye Bee!'" Hound whispered to his femme.

"Bye bye Bee!" Glazer shouted at the flash of yellow, and smiled as he stepped backwards out in the hall to wave to her.

* * *

"Whe... Wheeljack..."

"Shhhshhhh... uungh..."

"I... I - "

"Hush, P-Percy," he panted a smile as he bit down on Perceptor's neck cable and sucked it. The microscope let out a groan, feeling as Wheeljack suddenly hit a large sensor node dead on that his overload wasn't far.

"Oh... oh... I... ahh..."

Wheeljack just gripped those black hip plates trembling above him firmly and gave him all he had, pounding him like there was no tomorrow, making him keen and moan into his neck in pleasure and pain. The microscope held onto his helm fins, clenching and unclenching them, making Wheeljack moan just as kinkily.

Wheeljack couldn't help but watch his bondmate as he suddenly overloaded, watching him in the throes of sincere pleasure and wanting for more. Lips parted as he cried out Wheeljack's name, he bounced hard on the spike, bucking harshly and moaning louder as he felt him thrust faster to stimulate his own pleasure.

He quickly cupped the stiff shaft with the container as the transfluid shot out into it. Overload exploded through the scientist's circuits with a cry out to Primus, both keening as nothing but pleasure rippled through his spasming valve and hardened spike.

"Ohhhh... Ahhh - I - "

Wheeljack merely petted Perceptor's backstrut as both their systems finally started to relaxed. "Wh-Whe... Wheeljack..."

He looked up to tired but bright optics.

"I... do not want to... do this all the time," he eventually said as he started cycling air normally. "The trans-energon I mean."

"Why not Percy?"

"I mean, I know we need to," he said as they closed their panels and laid down on the berth together. "But, I think we should do it the more natural way. Most of the time."

Wheeljack smiled his very handsome smile that he rarely showed off with his face mask, and nodded. "Yeah, that seems better."

"Do you think so?"

He nodded again. "Nursing is much better for him anyway."

"But we will still have to feed him with bottles, especially after I can't produce anymore..."

"I know. That's a good plan, Perce." He gently kissed him on the forehelm before he stood up and walked to their wash rack. "See? You're already a natural, and he's not even born yet."


	26. Ratchet's Sparkling With A Story

**Basis:** G1

**Pairings:** WheeljackxPerceptor, RatchetxIronhide, HoundxMirage, ProwlxJazz

This chapter is kinda... jumpy I guess, from the other chapters. Random possibly... please don't spaz out or yell at me if ya hate it. Please and thanks :3

I needed to spice it up a bit.

Keep in mind it's four joors later from last chapter... If that explains anything.

Other than that, I think there'll only be like two more chapters or so :) THEN SEQUEL TIME

(But remember school starts Tuesday so I will be a little slower at my updates. I'm trying to type as much as I can with what wee little summer I have left.)

_-Shapeshift_

;)

* * *

**_4 Joors Later -_ Day 28 / 18**

Ratchet cycled deeply to himself over and over again as Wheeljack stroked his helm, murmuring the same thing to him that he had been for the past cycle.

"You're not going to end like this, Ratch," he soothed for the tenth time, but still with that comforting voice.

"I don't wanna die like this..."

"You're not going to, Ratchet. Trust me. You're not gonna die like this."

Sideswipe then jumped down and ran over to the two. "I found one," he panted as he handed Wheeljack a large blanket, and helped him unfold it and throw it over the medic's trembling legs.

"Thank you, Sideswipe."

The frontliner just ran away and climbed back through the ceiling to the Ark. The scientist looked up as he heard more shouting and shooting, the firing of cannons just making Ratchet more nervous.

"They're in the Ark!"

"I know, I know, Ratch. It'll be okay. They're not gonna find us; we got mechs guarding the brigs."

"I...I..."

"Shhh... Everything will be fine, Ratchet. Don't worry."

"Wheeljack?"

"I'm down here - "

Jazz jumped down with two very small lumps in either arm, quickly running past the two and lowering them down to the ground and running back to the dirty entrance. When Wheeljack saw one of them move slightly, he knew they were the sparklings.

"You got her?" he heard one mech call to him from up above. Jazz nodded and grabbed Glazer in his arms, pressing her close to his body as she squealed when another fire was shot.

"You're okay, baby," he whispered as he set her down next to the two lumps, and slowly uncovered said objects.

"What are you doing with Mirage's sparklings?"

"_Toddler_ and sparkling," he corrected with a smile. "I can't find them anywhere, 'Jack. I thought I saw Hound but it was just Long Haul."

Wheeljack sighed heavily as he now stroked Ratchet's large abdomen. "Did you comm. him?"

"Yes! A million times."

"Well, where's your other one?"

"Prowl has him," he said after another moment and got Tetris to not start to cry. "He'll be down any minute."

The three waited in silence once again for another few kliks before Ratchet keened in pain. "That's it, slow cycles..."

Jazz looked from the medic to the wall, to the hole in the ceiling, to the small ladder leading up to it... thinking, wondering where Mirage and Hound were. Surely they hadn't been captured... He just saw them a few kliks before he found Glazer crying. He ran to the noble's quarters with the femme and found Tetris still recharging in her crib, in the empty open dark room... vulnerable to _anyone._ He let Glazer walk and follow him as he held both Teddy and his own little femme, running, taking the back hallways towards the brigs where the hidden passages were built for these kind of reasons and situations. Just like Optimus' orders; to create these secret chambers for the sparklings to protect them, but the Autobots made them so they could fit anyone. Every cell had its own passage way into this main large section, about as big as the rec room.

"How's he doin'?" he asked softly as Ratchet groaned in pain.

"His dilation is taking longer than expected," Wheeljack replied. "Perceptor should be here any klik with the reliever."

Just then Jazz looked to where Perceptor was climbing down the ladder and ran towards the scientist with several machines. "I found the portable set," he said. "I have to go back for the needles and other mandatory equipment."

"Perceptor!" Wheeljack called out to him before he started up the ladder. "Let me go. You don't need to be up there right now."

The microscope lowered his servo from his swollen abdomen and walked back to the shaking medic. He knelt down where Wheeljack had been sitting as his bondmate gave him a kiss on the helm, and ran out of the secret room.

Perceptor only smiled as Ratchet wearily looked up to him, petting the back of his helm in a soothing manner. "Just relax," he said. "Ironhide will be here soon."

* * *

"Optimus!"

Sunstreaker just dove straight for Dirge rather than watch the semi turn around and take the hit. The two fell to the ground just before the Seeker almost shot the Prime's helm off, rolling until they hit the wall.

Optimus quick did a back swing to whoever was behind him, knocking Breakdown right off his pedes and flying into Sunstorm.

Thundercracker just scowled as Hound pushed harder on him, the Seeker feeling his friction go as Hound slid them into the wall. He quickly released his arm and had the scout bent at the waist as he transformers it into his cannon, pushing it right into the Autobot's chassis and pulling the trigger just before another shot hit him right in the optic.

He pulled back with a scream, Hound gaining his balance back and giving a perfect sucker punch.

"Bluestreak!" the scout called to the gunner. "Where's Glazer?"

"Jazz got 'em both!"

He sighed and ran to his quarters, diving and jumped and punching and shooting at any Decepticon who crossed his path. Hopefully he would find Mirage there, too, since he'd been looking for him for the past half a cycle.

His fear only intensified as he returned to his empty quarters, with no sparkling in either crib. He panted, running back out just as some Seeker aimed right for his pede, and struck.

* * *

Prowl typed at his datapad as hard and fast as he could, listening to his sparkling cry loudly on the couch next to him. "I know, baby, I'm sorry... Just hold on..."

He ejected the drive from the pad and subspaced them both, feeling slightly more secure that the access codes for Megatron's Spacebridge had successfully been downloading onto his datapad. He scooped up the crying mech and ran out his quarters, taking the same hallways Jazz had to find the passageways.

"Prowl!" someone called to him, and he turned around with his missile launcher loaded. "Take these to Perceptor," Wheeljack said as he ran out to him.

"What about Ratchet?"

"He'll be fine. I just gotta find something."

The tactician just ran as Wheeljack told him to go, and to help Ratchet if he needed it. He carefully avoided a whole pack of Constructicons, running softly and quickly through the hallways, and made it somewhat safely to the passageway.

"Oh Primus," Jazz spoke as Prowl jumped down and handed Chromix off to him. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. How about you? Or them?"

"Yeah, yeah, we're okay," he said as Prowl handed whatever Wheeljack had given him to Perceptor.

"Do you need any help.

Perceptor just shook his helm. "He's just dilating," he said. "Once I get this reliever running through his circuits he will act better. Ironhide is on the way as well."

Prowl sighed as he slowly walked away from the two and sat down next to Jazz. He placed his servo on the saboteur's thigh and squeezed it in a loving manner, eventually taking Jazz's servo and kissing it without taking his optics off the wall.

"You alright?"

Prowl nodded.

"You didn't see Hound or Mirage by any chance, did ya?"

"Hound's up there," he said and turned to him.

"What about Mirage?"

He shrugged. "I haven't seen him, Jazz. How's Glazer doing?"

Both turned to watch how the femme had fallen back into recharge on the floor, right next to Metallica on her blanket and Tetris on hers. "She's fine," he said with more of a whisper.

Prowl soon leaned over and kissed his lover on the cheek plate. "I gotta go back," he whispered into his audio.

"What? No - "

"Yeah, they need me."

"What if we need you down here?"

Prowl simply smiled. "You'll be fine down here. Just stay here, and stand your ground. I'll be back."

Jazz whimpered as Prowl stood as and left, praying to Primus that he would be safe.

* * *

Starscream stood on the destroyed stage and observed the dead Autobots on the floor as he listened to his Seeker companions fighting these flimsy Autobot scum.

As much as he enjoyed watching those pathetic losers _lose,_ he felt something wasn't right. Like, someone was... missing? No, not someone... Multiple mechs. Much more Autobots were somewhere on this ship, and he intended to them.

Right after he finished with whoever just pumbled him to the ground.

He stood up with a moan, followed by an angry scream as he and Blaster swung at one another at the same time. Blaster caught his arm and made hard contact to the side of his helm, smiling to himself as parts of the Seeker's audio went flying.

Starscream grabbed onto the boombox's other arm and slid him backwards, the two gaining each other's strength and forcing one another to the opposite direction.

"I... know there's more of you... _somewhere,_" he keened evilly, Blaster only smirking in reply.

"I think... you got too much high grade... in there, man..."

He let out an angry roar and released himself, throwing himself into Blaster and taking them both flying into the wall. Blaster weakly threw him off, only to be swiped painfully across the cheek plate with razor-sharp claws.

"How 'bout some tunes, man?" he simply smiled, trying to ignore the searing pain in his cheek. He blasted the music from his shin plate, Starscream crying out and covering both audio receptors as he backed away from him. The waved practically sent him flying the other direction.

He stopped the sound as he saw rapid fire shots striking the jet, nailing him right in the chassis. Prowl then took his servo and got him to his pedes.

"Are you alright?"

He nodded as Prowl took a swing to whoever was creeping up behind him, socking Thrust hard in the neck and snapping it backwards, offlining him instantly.

"Have you seen Mirage?" Prowl asked him tiredly.

"I saw the cat a cycle ago, not sure where he scampered off to though."

The tactician sighed. "I need to find Hound and get you both down to the brigs," he ordered. "Where's Tracks?"

"He me and said he was on his way down."

Prowl nodded and motioned for him to go, Blaster obeying and sneaking off past the back-turned Bonecrusher.

Prowl crept up behind him, aiming the launcher so close that it nearly touched the back of his helm, firing and watching the Constructicon fall face-first to the ground.

* * *

"Daddy!"

"Hi baby," Hound whispered as he sank to the ground next to Jazz and picked up his femme. "Are you alright?"

She nodded happily as Jazz smiled to her. "Thank you," he mouthed to the saboteur, Jazz just waving it off and smiling again.

"Have you seen Mirage?" he asked the scout after a moment.

Hound shook his helm. "Have you?"

"No..."

Just then a blue and white flash is thrown through the ceiling and crashes to the ground, with Wheeljack jumping right behind him. "I found Mirage - "

But Hound had already ran over to him, whimpering as he touched the unconscious noble. "What happened?"

"I think he had a cycling attack... he wasn't breathing when I found him," he said. "I finally got his air cycling again. He should be fine, and should online soon."

Hound and Wheeljack dragged him over to the wall as Jazz held Glazer as she squirmed out of his arms to see Mirage. "What's wrong with Mommy?"

"Nothing, baby, nothing's wrong," Hound soothed. "He's just recharging. He'll be alright."

After they had settled back down with Hound holding Glazer and stroking Mirage, Wheeljack returned to Perceptor and Ratchet and lifted up the blanket to see how the groaning medic was doing.

"Is... Mirage... okay?"

"Yeah, he's okay, Ratch."

His optics winced as he turned to Mirage and tried to crawl to him, but Wheeljack only held him back. "No no no, Ratchet. You can see to him _after_ this sparkling is out," he said playfully. "You're fully dilated, we need to start the labor as soon as possible."

"I'll run more reliever," Perceptor spoke as Ratchet keened at Wheeljack's words. He did _not_ want to give birth, let alone _right now._ He couldn't ask for a worse time to do such a thing that required such focus and strain and quiet.

Tracks ran down and across to where Blaster sat against the wall as Wheeljack coolly talked to the medic. "Just relax, alright?"

He nodded weakly.

"Everything's going to be _fine._ Ironhide's on the way, okay? But on the count of three - "

"No!"

"Yes, Ratchet. We gotta start; We need to get this over with."

Perceptor grabbed Ratchet's shaking servo and squeezed it reassuringly. "One..."

"Two..."

Ratchet keened softly as he made his first push, trying not to scream to draw the Decepticons down to their hiding spot.

"That's it! There you go..."

"Good job, Ratch," he heard as he pushed again, squeezing Perceptor's servo _hard,_ fighting off the loud groan wanting so desperately to escape him.

He knew this was a bad idea. He _knew_ he never should have gotten pregnant. It was a mistake to begin with. He didn't care that he _wanted_ one... He wanted a lot of things. None as valuable as a sparkling, of course, but part of him figured it wouldn't even be worth it. That the Decepticons would find them eventually, one way or another, and kill hm or the sparkling or both. Including everyone else. The thought made him quit cycling - Not even the voices shouting at him to 'breathe' made the daydream float away. He pushed subconsciously, gasping for air as the pain struck him like lightning and he felt two servos suddenly hit his shoulder plates and a pair of lips kiss him on the neck.

"Ratchet, c'mon, stay with us..."

Ironhide's voice brought so much relief to him that he felt tears running down his cheek plates. That, and the fact that his was the worst possible pain he could and had ever gone through. He'd probably rather be tortured by those Decepti-scums than go through this horrific pain and suffering.

"That's it, baby. _Push,_" he whispered to him.

The warrior sat behind him, legs crossed on the cold floor as he massaged the CMO's tense shoulder cables and rubbed on his backstrut. "You're okay... You're okay..."

"Come on, don't stop," Wheeljack chirped as Ratchet caught his breath and stopped to listen. "Believe it or not, the helm's almost here!"

"C'mon, Ratchet, you can do it..."

"W-Wait... Wha-at is that?"

"What's what?"

Ironhide looked up as hard thumps and loud shouts sounded from above and over the passageway's entrance. Ratchet suddenly cried out as he felt the sparkling shift slightly, and pushed hard as Wheeljack stroked his abdomen. "They're not coming," he told him. "We're okay."

"But the sparkling is," Perceptor smiled at the medic as he wiped off his forehelm sweat. "He'll be here any minute."

"Just think about the sparkling," the scientist added. "Think about how happy you'll be."

"Yeah, Ratchet. Don't think about them - just relax, and focus... Concentrate... on the quiet, on the sparkling... Just push, baby."

Jazz looked over to Hound as Glazer buried her little helm in his neck. Hound tiredly smiled as he watched the scientists help Ratchet along, remembering how he felt when he was in Ironhide's position.

He winced as Chromix sucked harder on his spigot, telling him it was empty and lifted the sparkling up to suck on the opposite side. His optics shifted back to Ratchet, watching how he writhed back and forth slightly on the floor as Ironhide and the others soothed him, coaxing the sparkling out, and him to relax.

Tetris soon started to cry, and Hound set Glazer down as she drifted off into recharge and held the youngest. Everyone got tense when she only cried louder, thinking the 'Cons would no doubt hear and find them in no time.

"Maybe she's hungry?" Jazz whispered.

"I don't have any energon... and I can't nurse her. Mirage won't wake up."

Jazz looked down to where Chromix was nearly offlined himself, lips occasionally puckering around that tiny spigot. "Would you mind... if I tried?"

"Nursing her?"

The saboteur nodded. "It's no different than Mirage's..."

"He's the only one that can feed her, Hound," Blaster spoke up.

Hound looked down as she wailed, and quickly nodded and handed her to him after he set Chromix on the blanket. Jazz shushed and soothed her, and finally got her to quit crying as she anxiously drank from his trans-energon spigot.

"There," he sighed. "She was just really hungry."

Hound simply smiled. "Thanks... Who knows what would've happened without you."

He smirked in reply and let out a playful "You're welcome" just before Sunstreaker and Sideswipe fell through the ceiling, landing on top of each other. Sunstreaker hit a wire and knocked out lighting for half of the lair, both Lambos standing up wobbly as everyone got really quiet.

Blaster gripped Tracks' servo tightly as they stayed calm on their side of the wall. Mirage stayed offline along with Metallica, Chromix, and Glazer, while everyone else watched as dust and chips of metal suddenly floated down from the hole.

Ratchet kept his optics offline as he couldn't help but push with Wheeljack's soft encouraging and the reliever causing him to relax, doing so very quietly as he panted.

Ironhide watched as Wheeljack's optics watched the hole behind him, and widening as he heard someone jump down with the other mechs yelping in horror. "Surprise!" he heard, but never took his optics off of Ratchet's blanket.

"Whoooooo's havin' a baby!" he heard the mech yell. _Rumble._

"Get him to safety!" Tracks yelled as he shot at the minicon. Hound staggered to his pedes and scooped up whatever sparklings he could, covering them with a blanket and bringing them to the far corner with Jazz right behind him with the others.

Wheeljack and Perceptor managed to bring Ratchet to the other corner, shushing him as more tears fell and his sparkbeat picked up rapidly. He didn't feel Ironhide's servos on him anymore... he knew he was going to die. Right here and now.

"Oh Primus please..."

"Ratchet, it's okay, just push..."

A cannon shot the wall right above them, more debris falling over the energon leaking out Ratchet's stretched valve. He tossed his helm back with a moan, keening angrily and in pain to get this sparkling out and get them both to safety.

Sunstreaker fired at Rumble once again as Bluestreak dived for Frenzy, wrestling him to the ground until he beat him so much he laid unconscious. Soundwave then fired at the gunner, Sideswipe shooting at him and rolling under between his legs.

Hound shot from in front of Jazz, protecting him and the sparklings, and Mirage too as he still laid unconscious. He hit Soundwave in the chassis and sent him to his knees as he fired, striking the wall just after Hound ducked.

Optimus jumped down the hole with a shout, Bumblebee right behind him with Acid Storm on their heels. "A secret hideaway!" he exclaimed. "How cowardly of you Autobots."

"For protection against fools like you!" Optimus shouted back as he caught the Seeker's swing and twisted his arm back.

"Nnngg... For you're precious sparklings, hm?" he groaned. "Speaking of which, is being born as we speak?"

Optimus turned to Ratchet in the corner, catching Acid Storm's punch off guard. He stumbled backwards and shot at the 'Con, sending him flying into the wall with his helm across the floor.

"NNNNNNNGGHHHH..."

"That's it," Perceptor whispered. "Push... _Push..._"

He merely gasped, panting through gritted denta at the pain, clenching Perceptor's servo tightly as Wheeljack rubbed his thumbs against the valve walls.

But Wheeljack was gone in an instant. Someone had grabbed him by the neck and thrown him across the room, another kicking Ratchet in the side as Perceptor kicked back, nailing the minicon right in the face. Rumble scowled as Ramjet just laughed, looking down at the two, and squatting so he was optics level.

"Does it hurt?" he mocked, his sarcastic soothing making Ratchet look to him. "How about we put you out of your misery..."

Ratchet shook his helm as he panted, but the Seeker only giggled as the medic yelped when Rumble tickled the inside of his trembling thighs. He merely smirked at his agony as Ramjet held Perceptor in place.

"What a mess!" he exclaimed. "Makes me sick. How about I add to it."

Ratchet keened and couldn't help but push as he tried desperately to kick him and his gun away, the force against his chamber cables making him push once more. He cried out mercilessly as the helm finally popped through, most mechs turning to the medic and gasping as Rumble teased the medic's port, touching the tiny helm and his searing valve, and chuckling as more tears of pain and frustration fell from his optics.

Perceptor keened himself and squirmed fast in the Seeker's hold, trying to reach out and grasp his servo but with no luck.

Ratchet knew he couldn't end like this. He _wouldn't_ end like this. Enough was enough; he screamed once more, kicking drastically and profusely, actually making Rumble having to stop torturing him to catch himself.

He kicked again as he screamed to Primus, begging him to make this stop, this pain and suffering... Rumble started sliding backwards as he tried to stop the angry pede kicks, defending himself. Ratchet looked to see how he was far down enough and kicked him right in the faceplate, the other pede kicking him in the neck and sending him across the floor. Ramjet simply stepped on his legs, making him cry out again, until he suddenly felt the pressure release and barely noticed how the Seeker went crashing to the ground.

Ironhide ran back over to him and put his gun away. "You're alright, Ratchet," he whispered into his audio as he shouted once again, pushing as Ironhide kept telling him too, Perceptor wiping the sweat off his helm and rubbing his backstrut.

Wheeljack finally crawled back to them, nodding finely as Perceptor made sure he was alright.

"Get more reliever running through him," he said. "No wonder he's in so much pain."

"This is the last dose, Wheeljack. That sparkling has to come out_ now._"

Ratchet merely yelled again as he clutched onto Ironhide, pushing his helm into his neck as Ironhide made sure no 'Cons were after them at the moment. He kissed his helm, murmuring to him how it would be alright, how they would make it and all be okay.

Ironhide shot at Rumble as he leaped for the medic again, sending him right back to the wall.

Wheeljack continued soothing him as he rubbed the valve walls, hard but soft enough for the sparkling. "C'mon," he muttered. "Push, Ratchet..."

Metal clattering was heard throughout the room, more grunts and fire shots sounding from everywhere. Ratchet couldn't seem to push anymore; No matter how much Wheeljack encouraged the sparkling, he wouldn't budge. Ratchet wasn't concentrating, that was the problem. He was so scared, so nervous, in so much pain... If he didn't give birth to him soon, he could possibly offline permanently, let alone the sparkling. After another few kliks or so he just looked to Perceptor and shook his helm, thinking the sparkling was probably dead. The stress and pressure was too much for the little guy, and the touches from the Decepticons could have irritated him to an extent that would have caused him to offline. But the way the sparkling wasn't moving... He knew there was no hope.

Perceptor only sighed as the thought broke his spark. All this pain and suffering for nothing...

Ratchet only keened again as he caught his breath, oblivious to the scientists' actions and thoughts.

"Are you sure?" Perceptor mouthed.

Wheeljack nodded. He gave it a 95% chance that he was a goner.

The three barely noticed how the room had grown rather quiet in the last few kliks of more pushing. Wheeljack turned to look at how every Decepticon was laying on the floor unconscious or offline, except for Rumble who remained in a tight headlock in Prowl's arms, forced to watch what everyone was watching.

The four in the corner, hoping to Primus that everything would be alright.

Ironhide pressed and rubbed hard into his backstrut, while Perceptor rubbed his abdomen and clenched his servo. "Almost there... C'mon, Ratch..."

He focused with the deathly silence, optics tearing up once more as he pushed so hard, silently moaning as they rocked back and forth to smoothly let the sparkling slide out. Wheeljack pressed hard as Ratchet made one final soft cry, pushing as Ironhide repeatedly told him to so quietly.

Everyone watched, lips parted and optics wide, as Ratchet moved back and forth, so close to finishing this _finally._

He huffed heavily and groaned, and let his helm fall back into Ironhide as everyone cheered. He did it; it was all over. The sparkling was born. Little did they know the actual truth they would soon discover.

But as that sparkling cried, Wheeljack's optics widened, and soon retracted his blast mask to reveal his parted lips of shock. He looked to Perceptor, jaw agape and optics just as wide as they floated up to meet Wheeljack's.

"By Primus..."

Ironhide had his optics offlined as he smiled, stroking Ratchet's helm dripping with sweat. He only murmured soft things into the medic's audio, kissing it, and wiping the sweat off the rest of his body as Perceptor handled his forehelm.

"Ratchet, I'm so proud..."

"I can't believe it, Ratchet."

"This is amazing..."

All the mechs were relieved at how well the medic had done, and how everything was perfectly fine. Most of them just sat tiredly in the floor as they watched them, sighing and happy as Ratchet was still online and the sparkling would be okay.

"I-Is he okay?" Ratchet choked as Ironhide held him, the two resting against the wall as Perceptor cleaned up his panel and valve. Wheeljack carefully washed the sparkling in the bucket of warm water they had prepared and brought down for the sparkling when he was born.

"Yes, Ratchet! He's _perfect._"

"He... He is? N-Nothing's wrong?"

"No, not a thing. I'm so proud of you."

Ratchet only smiled as Ironhide gently kissed his optics once more. "What did I tell you..."

"I guess y-you were right..."

"See? Everything's fine."

He looked up and saw how everyone was still watching him, and looked up to Ironhide. "I love you," he mouthed silently.

Ironhide did the same back, but nearly jumped as someone's missile launcher fired up.

"W-Wait!" Rumble chirped as Prowl bent his arm so his cannon was pointed right at his helm. "Don't shoot!"

"Why? There's no need for you here."

"Because! I -"

"You _what._"

"I'm bonded too! I was watching them over there... I think, it's really sweet..."

Prowl only tightened his grip around Rumble's helm and made him whimper. "I-I know that sounds mushy coming from a Decepticon! But it's the truth! A sparkling... is, amazing..." he panted. "P-Please, let me go..."

After a moment Prowl just looked to Jazz to his left. The saboteur nodded, as well as a few others after a while.

"I promise I won't pull anything..." he rasped, as the tactician was cutting off his vocals.

Prowl flickered his gaze over to Optimus standing and guarding Jazz and the sparklings. He too nodded.

Rumble's optics onlined brightly as Prowl slowly let go, and he ran off through the ceiling. The tactician sighed, and after a moment of watching the hole and not hearing anything except for Ratchet's chokey cycles of air, he made his way over to Jazz and sat down by him.

Jazz looked to him and smiled when he took the saboteur's servo and squeezed it.

Optimus walked over to Ratchet and Ironhide, and sat down against the wall next to the two. "Good job, Ratchet."

Ratchet looked up and smiled, knowing the leader was smiling under that mask. "Thank you sir."

Wheeljack soon turned around with a clean sparkling, and handed him carefully to Ratchet. "A healthy mech," he said gently, as he was nearly just as tired. "I still can't believe it."

Ratchet only smiled as he held his little sparkling, his tiny optics flickering online and focusing on him. "Hi little guy..."

Ironhide ever so softly brushed the back of a digit against his tiny cheek plate. "Primus, he's so tiny... I've only seen the other newsparks from the pictures."

Hound and Jazz just chuckled. "Yeah, he's pretty tiny over there," Jazz spoke. "Almost the size of the twins when they were born."

"Almost," Prowl repeated.

"I didn't have a blanket so he might be a little cold," Wheeljack added.

"That's alright," Ratchet breathed. "He's fine... As long as he's healthy."

Everyone remained quiet for a while. More mechs who had been up above fighting had come down to join them and see the sparkling. Mirage finally onlined and was now holding Glazer as Hound held him, as he and Jazz made small talk for a bit after he saw the sparkling and was told what all he missed. Ratchet rested with his optics offline against Ironhide as the warrior held his little mech, cradling him and managed to settle him down before he started crying again.

"Optimus?"

The semi turned from the sparkling to Red Alert as he spoke. "I fear the Autobots who have not come down may be in danger or offline... Should we check on them?"

Optimus merely nodded and gathered a small ground to assist him. He, Bumblebee, Warpath, Sunstreaker, and Sideswipe all exited the passageway to explore the ship for damage and rescue distressed Autobots.

Ratchet onlined his optics and turned to Perceptor. "Are you okay?"

He nodded. "Yes, I'm fine. The sparkling is alright," he whispered.

He gave a slight tired smile as he went back to resting on his bondmate. Wheeljack had the thin blanket covered in energon wadded up in the water bucket, ready to be washed as soon as Prime gave them clearance to return up top.

"I'm sorry it had to be this way," Ironhide spoke gently to his lover. "I'm sorry it was so stressful..."

"That's alright, baby. I survived, the sparkling's okay, and the Decepticons are gone," he whispered back wearily. "I'd say it's been a pretty good joor."


	27. Good Mechs and Femmes

**Basis:** G1

**Pairings:** WheeljackxPerceptor, RatchetxIronhide, HoundxMirage (small ProwlxJazz)

Alrighty, I'm done with the "Days" and stuff, simply because it doesn't really matter anymore. Jazz had his share of fame and Mirage had a second sparkling, so it's pretty useless.

(Unless you want it on there? Message me or somethin')

And... Iunno why I drew out Glazer's scene, like it was _so_ important... I just needed a filler? Oh well, you will live.

* * *

_**Two Joors Later** _

Ratchet sat in the rec room rocking chair quietly, optics and other areas resting and healing in the peace and quiet, gently rocking back and forth as he held his little sparkling wrapped in his soft blanket.

Whispers floated through the room to maintain quiet for the two. Jazz had Metallica recharging in his arms across from him at a booth as he read over a datapad, and causally sipped at a cube.

The saboteur had to receive a frame downgrade the other joor simply from his systems not being able to catch up with him. The term was like 'losing weight'. He had barely drunk a thing before he got pregnant by being so depressed, and wasn't much better during the pregnancy. Prowl got him on a regular diet again after they were born, but by then his frame was too big for his systems.

Perceptor, being an expert in those kinds of things, luckily enforced a more stricter diet on Jazz. He had been the one who ordered a downgrade, and had done most of the procedure himself.

Ratchet looked down to his little mech as he recharged, and thought about his friend. He wondered how he was holding up, still with his 'cold' and whatnot. Ever since the Decepticon attack two joors ago, the microscope had grown more sick. He, Wheeljack, and Ratchet all expected something similar for the mech, but Ratchet just considered himself lucky that he was able to repair most of the wounded the next joor since Wheeljack was taking care of Perceptor, and was able to help the medic when he needed it.

But seeing as it was Winter out, even in the desert, Ratchet had known that the organics get a lot of _colds_ this time of year for some reason.

Nitrix shifted and whimpered in Ratchet's arms, but soon relaxed as the medic generated more body heat on the tiny mech. He gave a soft smile as they continued to rock, and offlined his optics and just held him close, listening to their soft cycles of air and the faint squeaking of the chair.

* * *

"Percy, _please,_ sit down and _drink this._"

"I assure you, Wheeljack..." he sniffled. "I *cough* - I'm fine."

Wheeljack only sighed as he took the microscope's servo, and made him drop his fuser and sit down on the small bench behind him. "Don't make me strap you down."

Perceptor huffed as Wheeljack handed him the hot energon, and sipped at it slowly. "What about - "

"Don't worry about it, Perce. I'll handle it."

Perceptor rested his other servo on his large abdomen as he took a sip. "I'm just nervous, Wheeljack," he whispered after a moment. "I suppose I am just... trying to think about something else."

"I know," he said as he sat down next to him. "Don't worry about anything. Everything will be fine."

"What if they attack again?"

"You're just borrowing trouble. You know the chances of you being the same predicament as Ratchet is highly unlikely."

Perceptor just sniffled as he watched his bondmate's helm fins flash.

"The three-fourths of 'em who didn't online to retreat are _dead,_ Megatron's on Cybertron..."

"I know, I know... I'm sorry," he coughed.

Wheeljack merely kissed his helm and walked them both back to their quarters. "Recharge while you can," he whispered soothingly to him. "Just think happy thoughts, and enjoy the cold and the quiet."

Perceptor smiled and kissed him on the cheek plate.

* * *

"Sunst - "

"Shhhh!"

Sideswipe's smile dropped as he stopped running. "What?"

Sunstreaker gestured over to Ratchet in the rocker.

"Ohhh... Okay," he whispered.

He tried to walk more softly as he noticed Jazz with his sparkling as well. "Geez, lots of sparklings," he teased.

He sat down across from his brother and tapped his digits together. "And since when did you become all gooey?"

"I'm not gooey," he whispered back. "I just don't want to be disrespectful. _You_ know how hard it was for Ratchet... And Jazz too."

"And the newest one."

"Yeah, Mirage too."

"No," he whispered, and looked up. "Percy."

"Percy? What are you talking about."

Sideswipe looked from Ratchet back to his twin. "...Perceptor. Is expecting. Didn't you know that?"

Sunstreaker's optics flickered up to Sideswipe's from his datapad. "What the hell are you talking about, Sides? If he was I would've known. Remember the bet?"

Sideswipe's optics grew slightly larger as he grinned. "Ooooh yeah, Sunny. I remember the bet alright."

Sunstreaker followed the red Lambo's optics and looked to see Perceptor walking in through the rec room entrance. Sideswipe couldn't help but giggle at his look of shock and horror. "And it looks to me that you _lost."_

The yellow frontliner shot up as Perceptor neared him like he was Megatron. "P-Perce?"

"Yes, Sunstreaker?" he said quietly, barely looking at him as he continued on towards the energon dispenser.

"You... You're... Your abdomen... Wh..."

Perceptor looked down to his own swollen stomach plating and smiled as he filled a cube. "Why yes, it is large, isn't it?"

"What the fu - "

"It appears I have sparkmerged, hm?" he said slyly but tiredly. "And, if I have indeed sparkmerged, I have indeed spark_bonded_. Am I right?"

"What... Who...?"

"Who... is the father? I'd thought you'd have figured it out by now, silly mech."

"W-Wheeljack...?"

Perceptor gave a sly grin as he took a sip of his energon.

He only scoffed again as he tried to form words. Sideswipe came up behind him and patted him on the backstrut as he chuckled. "Sorry, Sunny. I thought you knew."

Perceptor walked back towards the twins and slipped through them as he neared his faceplate to Sunstreaker's. "You can drop those oil cans off anytime," he whispered.

* * *

Ironhide bounced gently in the middle of their quarters, calming the sparkling down as he cried and screamed.

Ratchet walked back in and towards the two with a small smile. Ironhide handed him off to the medic as he held up a bottle.

"Shhhh baby," he whispered, and sat down in the rocker in the separate back room next to the crib. "Oh honey, you're okay..."

Ironhide brought him his little gray blanket and helped Ratchet wrap it around him as he fed the little mech. "Do you need anything?"

Ratchet shook his helm. "I'm alright."

Ironhide just leaned against the crib and watched his sparkling drink from the small bottle. "Now, are you sure you feel up to helping Perceptor in... _what,_ two joors?"

"Yes, 'Hide. If I could manage all those mechs yesterday, I can manage _one_ in two joors."

"Which, by the way, I'm very proud of you for."

Ratchet just smiled. "It's my job."

After Ratchet finally got his little mech in the crib to recharge and come back out into the med bay, Jazz popped in with his own little femme.

"How's my little step-brother?" he whispered with a smile.

Ratchet sighed and giggled to himself. "He's just fine, Jazz. Recharging right now. Would you like to see?"

"Yeah... Yeah, I'll see the little guy."

They walked into the back room and peered over the metal crib, Jazz slightly gasping at the sight. "Primus, Ratch, he's adorable..."

"Well thank you," he whispered back. "I just can't believe how tiny he is, without being a twin and all."

"He's... not that below average," he sighed as Ratchet shifted the blanket so it wasn't choking him.

"I know... The stress on me maybe affected him, and he was a bit early."

"Oh was he? Well I'm still so happy he's perfect," he smiled.

Ratchet just chuckled as they shut the door and walked back out into the med bay. "Good job, _Mom,_" he teased, earning a hug from the medic.

"Thank you Jazz," he spoke, and gave him a small kiss on the helm. "But... So how's my little grandsparklings?"

"They're fine. Just cuties. 'Lilac's denta's starting to come in, but other than that they're happy campers."

"Okay," he smiled. "Alright. How's Prowl?"

"He's good. Tired... We both are, but he's fine. He went off paternity leave three joors ago."

"Oh alright. Are you doing okay by yourself?"

He nodded reassuringly. "Yeah, Ratch. I'm okay. Chromix recharges almost all the time, and Metallica just plays in the floor while I'm working on stuff. Both of 'em love music, too."

Ratchet just scoffed. "Of course, you have them addicted to the nonsense."

"S'not nonsense!" he giggled. "Most of it's classical for soothing. Very rarely do I play the _preferred,_ and if I do it's really low."

The medic only shook his helm. "Good thing."

Ratchet washed his servos and picked up a bunch of tools and stashed them in their proper storage areas as Jazz watched him. "Now, are either of them walking yet?"

Jazz shook his helm again. "Naw, jus' learnin' to crawl. Which will soon be just as dangerous."

Ratchet nodded. "I don't think I'll ever learn the order with twins," he said playfully. "Everything's so messed up compared to singles. Denta _before_ walking, taking longer to crawl, full panels after just two joors of birth..."

Jazz only chuckled. "I actually like them being this small. It's nice to just hold and feed them without worrying where they are or what they're doing. But, two teenagers at the same time... Primus, I don't know what I'm gonna do."

Ratchet laughed out loud at that one. "You'll be fine, Jazz. As strict and enforcing as Prowl is, you won't have to worry about them coming home drunk and pregnant."

Jazz snorted as Metallica cooed in her recharge. "Did you worry about _me_ that way?"

"No... Not all the time at least. You were a good mech growing up."

Jazz turned to see Ironhide walk back into the med bay from the hallway. "Jazz," he smiled. "How are ya?"

"I'm good, 'Hide," he matched his smile. "How 'bout yourself?"

"Oh, just fine. Too tired."

"I bet," he laughed. "You enjoying the newest family member?"

He grinned and nodded as he faced the back room. "He's a sweetie," he whispered. "But I can't say he's worth it from Ratchet's perspective."

"Oh, definitely," the CMO replied. "Completely worth it."

Ironhide merely smiled again and kissed his neck before walking back into their quarters. "Good, baby."

After another moment of quiet and stashing away tools, Ratchet spoke up. "Now, are you still nursing? Or are you done..."

"No, I still nurse. It's 7 joors after birth for _each sparkling,_" he chuckled. "I think I have about 20 joors total though, is what Wheeljack told me. So about two joors left."

"Oookay. That makes sense."

The two talked for at least another half a cycle, about things and topics jumping from one to another. They caught up on so much they hadn't realized they missed, talking about Ratchet's strange medical experiences, Jazz's jobs, what Ratchet named his sparkling (Ratchet hadn't named him until the next joor from being tired; Jazz loved the name Nitrix)... Jazz even showed Ratchet how to nurse the sparkling in the most comfortable way after the little mech woke up crying. Metallica onlined soon after, but remained mellow and calm.

She soon started to fuss, however, so the two mothers exchanged their goodbyes and the saboteur left. Ratchet finally got Nitrix to recharge in his crib again, and Ironhide set the sparkling monitor up in the med bay so Ratchet could hear him when he was working. Even though he was technically on maternity leave, it was useless to him because he was the only medic. He didn't mind, anyway, giving simple check ups or fixing a broke joint or limb here and there. It wasn't like there were bevies of wounded Autobots on the verge of death anymore.

Besides, it was good for him to get used to working already, since he and Wheeljack would be by themselves when delivering Perceptor's sparkling in two joors. Ratchet was reteaching himself, more mentally since he still knew how, on how to perform cesarean section. He knew Perceptor could do it, and did have the hips to do so, but as sick as he was he feared he wouldn't have the energy.

Which was fine, he knew. He didn't mind helping his friend in the least. Especially after how he and 'Jack both helped him so much during the attack in the passageway.

Ratchet only smiled to himself as he remembered how he felt instantly after the sparkling came out. When he held him for the first time, shivering from the shock and the cold, tears running down his cheek plates still from the pain but more from being so happy that his sparkling was here, and they were all alive.

* * *

"Stop it!"

Tetris looked up as she laid in the floor, pacifier quivering as she suddenly started to cry at Glazer's loud voice.

"Gimme!" she only shouted, and tried to grab the ducky out her tiny servos.

The sparkling only cried and screamed louder as Glazer yelled at her and pulled the ducky out of her servos, squeezing it as she watched the sparkling writhe her tiny arms and wail.

She looked up as her creator ran in, and watched her pick up Teddy. "Honey, what happened?"

"She taked my ducky!" she glared and pointed.

Mirage just sighed as he bounced her, but she only continued to sob and scream in the noble's audio. Mirage lifted and turned her around so she faced out in front, a position he knew had worked whenever Glazer had a stomach ache when she was a sparkling.

Hound walked into the room and looked to Glazer. "What happened?" he asked Mirage as he picked the femme up.

Mirage only shrugged and sighed to himself as Tetris stopped crying after a while as they bounced. "Boo said she took her ducky. I think she has a stomach ache, though."

Hound just tickled the underside of Glazer's chin as she glared at the tiny femme in her mother's arms. "She taked my ducky..."

"Well you have two," Hound said as he walked away. "Couldn't you share?"

"No!"

"I think so."

"My duckies!"

Hound set Glazer down in her crib and pried one ducky out of one of her servos, the femme crying out and clutching onto the bars of the crib and holding on in protest. She only started to cry as Hound won the battle.

"Honey, you need to not be so selfish..."

"I not sel... shell..."

"You should share your toys, baby. And you can sit here on time-out until you learn better."

"No! Daddy - " she cried, instantly sobbing as Hound left her back room. She plopped down and screamed, kicking the crib bars and wailing as she threw her ducky in anger. She threw it too far, however, and watched it fly over the bar and onto the floor, which only made her scream louder and cry harder.

Mirage fed Tetris her bottle as she still faced out in front, lightly bouncing her as they swayed across the room. "Why is she crying?"

"I put her on time-out - "

"Why?"

"She needs to learn. I let her keep one ducky, though..."

Mirage sighed and took the second ducky. "That's not really fair, Hound. These _are_ her duckies."

"That's not the point, 'Raj. She shouldn't be so selfish."

Mirage looked down at the sparkling and soon traded the bottle for the ducky. "...Yeah..."

"Right?"

He nodded. "But she shouldn't be... miserable..."

"Let her cry," he said as he took the sparkling in his hold and let her grasp the ducky weakly. "She's alright."

"Honey - "

"Mirage, if you comfort her, she'll expect it every time and won't learn anything."

Mirage gave him a look as he neared the wailing. "You act like you'll be doing this on a regular basis."

Glazer stood in her crib as she sobbed hysterically, one servo reaching towards the ducky while the other gripped the bars as she bounced angrily. Mirage spotted the rubber ducky on the ground and picked it up, handing it to the femme and trying to pry his own servo out of her tight grasp.

"Baby, I'm sorry, but Daddy says you're on time-out..."

"No! I- I sorry!" she screamed, and bounced more intently. "Mommy!"

"Glazer, I'm sorry," he said again as he kissed her soaked cheek plate. "But Daddy's right; You need to learn your lesson, not jerk things out of other 'Bots' servos or be selfish."

Mirage turned around to leave just as Glazer cried out again, his spark breaking at leaving his little femme in there alone and crying. Hound shared his look of sympathy as the noble returned to him.

"I'm sorry, baby. I don't like doing it either."

"Well... I just hope we don't _have_ to do it all the time," he said. "I don't want to be the kind of creator that has to punish their child from doing wrong 24/7."

"We won't... we won't, Mirage. She's a good femme."

Mirage only sighed. He watched Hound bounce on the floor, holding their sparkling as they slowly turned around as they danced across the room. He was quite good at it, too; But Mirage had known ever since they first met that Hound was a good mech, and would make a great father. But that was when he was just dating the scout, during the period for the Nobles where they would find a mate. Where they were searching for the right mech, or femme. Mirage, ever since he was still in the Academy in the Towers, had wanted a sparkling... To raise a family of his own. Once he and Hound bonded, he saw the opportunity as finally getting what he wanted. He only had a hard time getting past the fact that sparklings weren't all 'puppies and rainbows', so the organics say, and required special attention and care. He loved it, though; He loved both his little femmes almost too much. But as Hound was punishing one of them for the first time, the noble realized they would need to be extra caring, and strict. Something he didn't want to be towards something he loved so much.

"Maybe when we move to Cybertron, everything will be better."

Hound looked over to where Mirage sat on the edge of their berth. "Are we moving to Cybertron?" he teased.

"Yes," he chuckled. "Eventually. We'll move back when the war's over, and live in our own nice house with the sparklings."

Hound chuckled softly as he flipped Tetris around so she rested against his chassis. "You Nobles and your fine taste," he joked. "I still can't see how you stand it _here_."

"I don't," he replied. "It's the thought of _why_ I'm here, and the mechs surrounding me. And you..."

"We never would've met if you hadn't joined."

Mirage smiled as he shook his helm. "Prowl told me he still has our bondage ceremony on tape..."

"Pffft, I'm surprised he kept the thing."

"Most of it is his own sparklings, or Jazz. I think it's sweet."

Neither had really paid attention to how Glazer had stopped crying a few kliks ago. Hound stepped back to peer in and watched how she sat there, facing the wall, her little arms moving as she squeezed her ducky. He could hear her sniffle from time to time, and lift up an arm to wipe at her wet optics.

"How long are you going to keep her there?" Mirage asked softly.

"Another few kliks. Next time I won't be so harsh... I just didn't want her to think that was okay."

"I know, and that's alright."

Mirage walked over after he spotted the pacifier on the floor and picked it up, and handed it to Hound. "Wash it first. I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?"

"To get her some energon."

* * *

Ratchet smiled to himself as he heard Nitrix coo loudly in the sparkling monitor behind him. Blaster looked around terrified, only relaxing as Ratchet told him what it was.

"I still can't believe how we missed this much," Ratchet spoke up again.

"Tha's alright, man. You said it shouldn't be harmful."

"Well, it _shouldn't._ Doesn't mean it won't."

The medic carefully pulled out the next piece of lose shrapnel out of Blaster's backstrut and placed it on the metal tray with all the others. "So have you been trying again?" he asked after a moment.

Blaster slightly hesitated at first. "...For a sparkling?"

"Yeah. I... just thought I'd ask, with everyone else having one..."

Ratchet could have kicked himself in the ass for not thinking before he spoke. He stopped moving the tool as Blaster sighed and didn't say anything.

"I didn't mean it like that, Blaster," he said softly. "I'm so sorry..."

"Naw, man, it's cool. I know what ya meant. But um... no."

"You haven't?"

"We maybe tried once or twice recently, but I think we've just given up."

Ratchet exhaled deeply to himself, and pulled at another piece. "Well I haven't."

Blaster turned his helm as far as he could in a manner of listening. "Whad'ya mean?"

"I mean, I know it's hard. And I hate seeing such a chipper 'Bot being so glum."

"Jazz was worse," he scoffed.

"Jazz was different," he whispered.

Blaster turned his helm back to face out in front as Ratchet got the next piece of shrapnel out. "What are you talking about, Ratch? Think I shouldn't give up?"

"I'm saying you should still try. If you sparkmerge enough you might jump start the thing and get it working."

"You're not serious."

"If I wasn't I wouldn't be telling you this."

"Ratchet, we've tried for eons, and not a thing's happened except that false positive. What makes you think it'll all of a sudden start workin'?"

Ratchet just sighed softly as the sparkling cooed again in the monitor. "Just take a doctor's orders. You never know what might happen."

* * *

"What the hell was that?"

Perceptor looked to his bondmate's scared stare with an apologetic look. "I'm not sure..."

Wheeljack stepped closer, his surprised look not dropping until he just laughed. "That has gotta be strangest thing I've ever heard, Perce. What have you been drinking?"

"Just your damn energon solution," he smirked as he sniffled. "Who knows what that nasty stuff could make me do."

Wheeljack just grinned wider. "Sorry, I know it's disgusting but it's helped! You know it has."

"I have indeed been feeling slightly better... And here it says the sound was quite similar to a... _'sneeze'_."

"What's a sneeze?" he asked as he looked over Perceptor's shoulder at the monitor.

"Apparently it's something the humans make... It says it's an involuntary expulsion of air from the... nose and mouth... due to irritation of one's _nostrils,_ whatever that may be."

"I think it's the two holes they have at the base of their nose," Wheeljack piped up. "To... permit the sense of smell."

"Ah... Well there, see? I am not a freak."

Wheeljack just chuckled. "I never said you were."

He gently placed his servo on Perceptor's, resting them on his large stretched abdomen, and retracted his mask and kissed his neck. "Two joors," he whispered into it.

"Two joors and I'll be having a spark attack before the sparkling's even here."

"I won't allow it. You'll be absolutely fine. I promise."

Perceptor turned and leaned up to kiss him on the lips. "We don't even have a name for him."

"We'll think of something. Or wait until he's here, hm?"

Perceptor smiled lightly as he walked back to their quarters. "That sounds fabulous."

"So does some energon."

"Will you please retrieve some _normal_ energon for the both of us?"

Wheeljack just chuckled as he exited their quarters and their lab to head for the rec room.


	28. The Final Destination

**Basis:** G1

**Pairings:** WheeljackxPerceptor

_LAST CHAPTER! _:O

Oh my.

And it only took 28 chapters of fluffy slashy kickass awesomeness.

I really hope you liked it, and like this last chapter/the ending...

NEXT UP: SEQUEL TIME. Dunno yet what to call it.

-yey, can't wait-

_-Shapeshift_

;)

* * *

_**Two Joors Later**_

Wheeljack wearily watched his bondmate in the other room as he remained hunched over.

"Percy?"

He only shook his helm and stood up slowly. "I'm alright..."

Wheeljack's optics widened a little as Perceptor grunted to himself, and saved himself from that last position.

"Alright," he said as he set down the datapad and walked towards him. "Let's go."

"What?"

"To med bay."

"No no no no no... It's not time yet," he heaved.

"Yeah, Perce, it looks like it's time to me."

"But - "

"C'mon, we'll just get you situated, even if it's not time yet."

"It's just bad contractions!"

Wheeljack stopped trying to grasp Perceptor's arms and sighed softly. He knew what the microscope was doing; He was trying desperately, in any which way, to not go. He wasn't ready, he thought. Stalling. Wheeljack had wanted him in med bay early this morning, but Perceptor had pushed him to now where it was late afternoon. Wheeljack could tell that the more they waited, the more nervous Perceptor got. By now he was just a wreck... Dropping things, getting frustrated, hardly speaking, let alone drink anything... Wheeljack even had Ratchet tell Perceptor he needed him in med bay. But Perceptor was too smart; he knew it was just a trap. _Primus,_ why on Cybertron did he agree to this?

Perceptor looked over to the 60 cans of oil stacked up on his separate desk. Frankly, at the moment, he didn't think it was worth it.

Right now the last thing he wanted to think about was the sparkling... That only led back to the thoughts on how much pain and suffering he would have to endure to get that sparkling. The ways he had seen for the past month, with Mirage and Jazz and Ratchet himself, he definitely didn't think he could do it. Even if he had cesarean section... Ratchet wouldn't want to risk something happening during an unnecessary surgery, and would want him to at least try.

And the oil suddenly running down his legs certainly did not help his fear.

He whimpered, keening softly and looking up to Wheeljack with wide frightened optics, and nearly jumped out of his frame at Wheeljack's voice so close to him.

"Honey," he whispered, and moved his servo to Perceptor's helm. "I know you're scared. I _know._ Just don't think about it... Let it happen. Just relax and play along. You will be _fine._"

"Easy for you to say," he gasped.

"C'mon," he smiled. "Ratchet and I will make sure you're fine. I promise."

* * *

"That's it Percy... Deep breaths."

"Hand me that scalpel."

Wheeljack handed the medic the tool as he clenched Perceptor's servo, the microscope not wanting to let go as Wheeljack needed to help Ratchet.

"I'm right here," he said to him as he let go. "Don't worry, you're doing great so far."

"Perceptor, I'm proud at how well you're doing," Ratchet smiled as he clipped another wire. "Most mechs or femmes I've done cesarean section on have passed out or been nervous wrecks."

"I... am afraid I'm already a nervous wreck..."

"Why? You have nothing to worry about."

Perceptor watched the medic as he kept his small smile and dug at another circuit, and flickered his optics over to Wheeljack as he felt another wire being cut.

"Because, something may go wrong. It already has."

"It's not your fault you almost offlined, Percy. It's actually my fault for rushing through everything and forcing it on you. I never should have made you start the normal way."

The monitor beeped at its slow pace in the background as Perceptor only sighed and clenched onto the berth handle.

It was at least a half a cycle before Perceptor's nervousness started to gradually fade. Wheeljack reached down and held his servo as he occasionally handed Ratchet a tool as he was done with his part. He and Ratchet simply talked to the microscope, settling him, relaxing him to a point where he stopped gripping the sides of the berth for dead life. He clenched at Wheeljack's servo with every wire snapping, sighing here and there as the scientist rubbed his thumb over the back of his helm in a soothing manner.

"See, Percy? We're almost done, and you did great!"

Perceptor only suddenly moaned in pain and grasped onto Wheeljack's servo tighter. Ratchet cursed under his breath as the monitors beeped more frantically, causing Wheeljack to look up with fear and curiosity.

"What is it?"

"He was still dilating," Ratchet spoke. "The sparkling was moving as we were operating; he's almost halfway out."

"How did that happen?"

Ratchet sighed as Perceptor groaned again. "We didn't force shutdown. It's my fault."

Wheeljack looked down as Perceptor clenched his servo hard, moaning as the pain increased drastically. "I'm so sorry, Perce... But you don't have far to go. It'll be over before you know it," Ratchet said to him.

Perceptor only shook his helm. "Wheel... Make..."

"I know, I know, it's alright, we're just sitting you up..."

The two managed to prop Perceptor up on the berth a little so he would be in an appropriate position for the delivery. "That's it, easy now..."

"I can't... Ratchet!"

"You're okay, don't worry, we got reliever flowing through every circuit. Just a few pushes, and you're done!"

"N... No... Wh..."

Wheeljack kissed Perceptor's helm as Ratchet reattached the metal plating over his exposed abdomen. "It'll be alright," he whispered. Ratchet couldn't help but feel absolutely terrible for forgetting the most important thing during a cesarean... to shutdown the dilation. If he didn't it would continue dilating, and the sparkling would take its natural process and emerge through the chambers, out the normal way. He knew Perceptor couldn't feel it because of how he had disabled his pain receptors for the surgery, and the only way he or Wheeljack would have known would have been if Perceptor said anything. He also couldn't finish delivering by cesarean because the sparkling was too far through the chambers; the whole operation was a waste of time.

It was all his fault. He didn't know if he would ever forgive himself, or if Perceptor would even forgive him. Not at the moment, for sure, he knew, as Perceptor cried out again as the sparkling moved once more. He reset the monitor and sent out more reliever as fast as he could, hating how the pain receptors naturally rebooted automatically, but the microscope was already clutching onto Wheeljack's servo almost too tightly.

Ratchet shushed him comfortingly, knowing the poor mech was scared to death. He started to rub softly against the valve walls, encouraging the sparkling as soon as possible to get this over with, as he still stroked Perceptor's trembling legs and listened to his cries.

"Perceptor, I'm so sorry," he repeated as he rubbed the valve walls again. "I promise, this will be so much easier than you think."

Perceptor keened in pain in reply. Wheeljack murmured words into his audio, probably everything Ratchet had said and more soothing words.

"Alright Percy," Ratchet spoke up again. "Push for me. Just a gentle push."

He groaned as he did so, helm lifting off of Wheeljack's shoulder as he gritted his denta. "Just like that, good... Give me another little one..."

He shook his helm in response as a tear fluttered down his cheek plate. "You're doing fantastic so far, hon... You're almost done..."

The monitor beeped rapidly all of a sudden, Perceptor whimpering as Wheeljack stood up to see to it. "Get some nitrous on him," he heard Ratchet say. "His systems are going offline."

Wheeljack grabbed the mask and knelt back down next to his bondmate, and placed it over his quivering lips. "Just breathe, Percy..."

But he only managed chokey gasps as he keened again. He finally took a deep breath, causing the monitor's frantic beeping to simmer down and stabilize his systems a little better. He managed another before Wheeljack took the mask away as Ratchet told him to push, grabbing his servo as the microscope pushed as hard as he could.

"You're doin' great, Perce. Just about two more big pushes and you're done," he said with a smile.

Wheeljack kept his helm resting against Perceptor's as he clenched and unclenched his servo, encouraging him to push, telling him how it would all be over before he knew it. Perceptor only screamed and bucked as the helm popped through, as Ratchet coaxed the walls to relax and let the sparkling just flow out.

"That's it... almost there..."

"C'mon, Percy, push!"

"We're almost there!"

He simply keened again as he tossed his helm back, smacking it against the back of the berth and pushing it into it. The monitor started beeping frantically once again, but Wheeljack stayed at Perceptor's side, knowing he was almost done, and couldn't seem to free himself from the microscope's strong grip anyway.

With a few more murmured words into his audio, Perceptor made his final cry to the ceiling as he made his final push. Ratchet huffed a smile as the sparkling's whole form slithered out into his waiting servos, covered with energon and wailing at the top of his little lungs, as the humans said.

Perceptor choked on his gasp of relief as he felt Ratchet cut the umbilical cord and saw him rush to the back room, as Wheeljack simply chuckled into his audio and soothed him.

"You're done," he repeated as he retrieved the nitrous and let his bondmate cycle it. "You're all done! I'm so proud of you."

Perceptor only panted lightly as his systems finally settled down and he was able to think straight. "I... cannot believe..."

"I know, baby, it's okay. I'm so sorry you had to go through that - "

"No," he smiled. Wheeljack was actually surprised at the answer, let alone the smile forming across his lips. "It... was good. For me. I'm glad it happened."

Wheeljack's optics flickered over Perceptor's sweaty faceplate as he processed the words. The strange, unexpected words... The last thing he expected from the nervous mech was that he was happy about what happened. A smile. Not cursing or threatening. Just a peaceful Perceptor, like he always knew.

He wiped Perceptor's helm with a damp wash cloth, and leaned over and kissed him on the helm so gently just before Ratchet called his name. "I'll be right back," he whispered to him, and caught another smile as he dashed to the back room.

...

Wheeljack looked down as Ratchet placed the sparkling in the large sink full of warm water.

"Primus..."

Ratchet smiled as the sparkling started to cry once more. "I think he's one of the most handsome mechs I've ever delivered," he said softly as he gently wiped the sparkling's helm and drizzled water over it, causing him to just coo.

"Really?"

He nodded. "I mean, I can't say I've ever seen an ugly sparkling before, but this one is just interesting. A perfect cross between you two."

Wheeljack smiled under his mask at the comment. He watched as the medic washed his sparkling... _his_ sparkling. _He_ was the father... He felt _so_ good. He was so happy... Tension had slid right out of him as he watched the tiny form coo in the warm water, stifling here and now as he obviously wasn't used to the cold air or bright lighting or such a fluidy material.

Ratchet looked over to Wheeljack's large optics. "You wanna wash him?"

Wheeljack nodded as his helm fins flashed a happy color. He and Ratchet switched places quickly, Wheeljack taking the wash cloth and soothing his sparkling as he whimpered, shushing him comfortingly, and smiling the whole time as he gently washed the energon off of him.

"Hey," Ratchet spoke up after a while of slushing water and cooing or whimpering sparkling vocals. "Is Percy... upset?"

Wheeljack retracted his mask to show his constant smile. "No."

"He's not?"

"Not at all," he shook his helm. "He's so happy, Ratchet. I wish you could have seen him."

Ratchet smiled to himself at the words, and peered outside to see the red mech resting on the berth with his optics offline, but a small smile on his faceplate. He looked back down to the sparkling, still feeling terrible, but more happy than anything at the thought of how happy Perceptor was, even after what went wrong.

"I think he only worries about things _before_ they happen," Wheeljack spoke softly. "After something happens, he deals with it, or realizes it wasn't so bad after all."

Ratchet actually chuckled. "I still feel horrible."

"Don't. He knows it wasn't your fault. He's not mad. He said he was glad it happened this way."

The sparkling whined loudly as Wheeljack lifted him out of the water and placed him on a towel on the cold counter, causing him to choke and start to cry. "Shhh shh shh, you're okay... you're okay..."

Ratchet brought over another small towel for the scientist to dry him off smoothly. He wiped over his helm and under his little dim optics, catching the tears as he dried him off quickly and wrapped a large blanket around him several times.

"Can't you turn up the heat?"

Ratchet nodded and walked over to the thermostat, even though it would take a while for it to take affect. Wheeljack already had the sparkling in his arms, blanket tucked snuggly around him, watching as his optics brightened and slowly flickered up to his creator's.

Ratchet couldn't help but grin at Wheeljack's huge smile. Together they walked out with Ratchet holding him now, as Wheeljack sat by Perceptor on the edge of the berth as he onlined. He managed to sit up a little more to take the sparkling, tiredly smiling as the little mech's optics fluttered to his.

"Hi," he sighed, still a little nervous about everything. The two others just chuckled.

"Ratchet said he was one of the most handsome sparklings he'd ever delievered," Wheeljack whispered, smiling at Perceptor's laugh.

After a moment Ratchet knelt down beside the berth on the opposite side, watching as the sparkling's optics shifted over to him from the movement. The medic only sighed, very softly, thinking over about everything that had happened, but happy for them all at the outcome. One of the most peaceful and pretty little sparklings he'd ever delivered... Calm and quiet with a sweet little faceplate. Like both his creators.

He looked over to Perceptor's very dim but smiling optics, watching as he and Wheeljack just laid or sat there, resting against one another, holding their tiny formation. Wheeljack would occasionally kiss or nip or murmur something into Perceptor's audio receptors, but the three sat in silence except for the soft rare coos from Ratchet's sparkling monitor.

The medic parted his lips to speak, but nothing came out. He closed them, and waited another klik, and spoke so softly, like a whisper.

"I... am so sorry Perceptor... I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

Both Wheeljack's and Perceptor's optics fluttered over to his, but neither said a thing. Perceptor watched him for a moment, how his optics would flicker down towards the berth and over the sparkling; the medic was clearly nervous and felt absolutely terrible.

But Perceptor still wasn't sure what for. He was _happy_ it happened.

Ratchet's optics jumped up as he felt something grasp it. The sight of Perceptor's cold servo holding his made him smile ever so slightly, like relief was flooding his circuits. He looked up to Perceptor, seeing his weak dull optics and soft closed lips forming a smile, the warmth shining back at him in the dim med bay lighting.

No words were needed. Ratchet knew Perceptor wasn't mad, and never was.

* * *

"Ra- "

"I'm here, Prime."

Optimus' optics settled down as the medic walked into the meeting room. "How is Perceptor?"

"He's fine," Ratchet smiled. "We delivered a very healthy mech sparkling at 7:05 this evening."

The small number of mechs either cheered or sighed in relief, or both. "He does not, however, wish to have pictures displayed."

"That's quite alright. The others will understand."

"What's his name?" Bumblebee asked with a bright smile.

"That's what they're deciding on right now. But I must be going, Prime, my own is unattended and they may need me for more tests..."

"That's fine, Ratchet, you can go. Thank you telling us the great news," their leader smiled.

Ratchet left the meeting room just before everyone broke out into small chat. Optimus retrieved their attention once again to continue, more than happy that Perceptor was alright and the sparkling was delivered healthy and without too much irritation.

"Alright mechs, with that worry out of the way, let's continue on with the meeting."

"You were on specific dates before you paged Ratchet," Prowl spoke up."

"Thank you Prowl. But the Decepticons have not shown any more action ever since the attack four joors ago, neither on Earth nor Cybertron. I'm afraid I will have to send it another stakeout."

"Cliffjumper and I are willing, Optimus."

"As much as you two fit and work well together on a mission, I believe the best pairing would be my _top_ spies. Not that Cliffjumper isn't an outstanding spy, but this requires stealth and professional maneuvers. You and Jazz will fit to do perfectly."

Jazz's optics shot up from the table. "Prime, if Prowl'll be on Cybertron and I'm in their base, who's gonna watch the sparklins'?"

"It will only be for a very short period of time that you both will be away at the same time. The remaining mechs on the Ark will more than happily sparkling-sit."

Jazz huffed to himself and looked to Prowl, only to have him silently tell him it would be alright. But Jazz was still upset... Sparkling-sit newborn twins? No one here would have that simple touch that Jazz had and that the sparklings needed. Especially with one's denta already starting to come in, and the other wasn't far behind. Crawling required constant watch. He was done nursing, but who would still feed them normally? Ratchet probably would have that touch, but he was busy as a medic and with his own sparkling. Mirage had a newborn younger than his twins, plus a toddler. Perceptor was too weak and nervous enough with his own.

As Optimus went on, Blaster suddenly popped into his processor. Hadn't Blaster always wanted a sparkling? And Tracks too... Together they could easily watch one, couldn't they? Or would it make them feel bad that the sparkling wasn't theirs, and someone elses? But who else would want a sparkling as bad as they did? Bumblebee would be on the mission with him. Every other mech on the Ark was either grumpy or too careless or too busy. He decided the kind-sparked boombox would be their best bet.

Jazz looked to Prowl with a small smile, and wrote his thought on the datapad at Prowl's confused look. He pushed the pad over to him and watched him read it, and watched him smile and nod.

* * *

Blaster still said nothing.

"C'mon, man, I need you."

The boombox's neutral smile stayed across his faceplate, his servos still on each hip, as he thought about Jazz's request.

"...I'd love to," he almost whispered, smiling.

Jazz's worry suddenly jumped to joy, frown flipping to a grin. "Thank you."

"I mean... I know it's hard for you too... I'm actually honored to be the mech you'd ask."

"I just know... uh, you've always wanted one," he said nervously, realizing he shouldn't have after Blaster's smile fell a bit. "I just know you'd be a perfect creator, let alone a sitter."

"You think?" he smiled again.

"Definitely!"

Blaster just shifted on the other pede. "Well thanks, that means a lot. Ratchet actually wants us to keep trying," he said.

"That's great!"

Blaster's voice then got a lot softer. "But I still don't think anything's gonna work."

"Aw, Blaster, don't think like that. If you want something bad enough, you'll get it. You know that medic - always outdoing himself to help otha's. I swear, if he or Wheeljack or Percy think it's possible, then they'll find a way, let alone when all three of 'em work together."

"I know... He's just said he'd help me before, and still nothin's happened. Still makes me worried."

"Well don't," Jazz sighed. "It's just a flaw. A fixable, little flaw."

Blaster's smile widened at the words. "Thanks for havin' faith."

"I'm a saboteur. Gotta have faith that things are gonna work."

The boombox just laughed. "I thought saboteurs just destroyed things."

"Exactly. Gotta hope it works!"

The two just chuckled again, chuckling here and there, every so often as they continued chatting like best friends. Besides Mirage, Jazz and Blaster _were_ just about best friends. Not just because they had so much in common, but because they just got along so well. He hadn't met the mech until after he joined, though, but that was still eons ago. Why hadn't he thought of Blaster beforehand? He was such a good mech, sweet and kind, fun to be with, had barely any enemies besides the 'Cons and his ex Soundwave, was bonded to another great mech, and no doubt would make a _perfect_ creator.

If only the sparkmerge would work normally.

Jazz had even lost track of time as they did nothing but catch up with each other. Talking, learning things about one another that neither had ever known. Blaster would tell him stories about him and Soundwave before the war, Jazz would share about his DJ-ing at Planet Cybertron and how he met Prowl, Blaster shared how he met Tracks, Jazz actually talked a little about his first pair of sparklings, and the list went on.

It was after dark now. Prowl had brought both sparklings to where the two were as he had been watching them all joor, wondering where Jazz was. The saboteur just laughed and apologized as he took his little femme, her optics wide and lips smiling as she cooed happily.

"Where's her pacifier?"

"I can't find it for the life of me." Jazz just chuckled. "She finally stopped crying after wailing all day... I found some frozen energon for her to chew on."

"I think Tracks has one from a long time ago," Blaster spoke. "I think his friend gave it to him for our own, but... ya know."

"Oh, that's alright, Blaster. You keep it for _when_ you have your own."

Blaster simply smiled and rolled his optics.

* * *

Hound kissed Mirage on the lips for the third time as the noble laid on him, chassis against chassis on their berth.

"Shhh," he giggled as Mirage laughed aloud at his ticklish touch.

"Sorry, your fault."

Hound just hummed in amusement as his servo slid across his backstrut again, and kissed him a fourth time.

"Promise me," Mirage whispered after a moment. "That you'll be safe."

"I promise."

"More than words. That's not enough."

Hound softly smiled into his lover's optics, and kissed him a fifth time. "Interfacing is just for pleasure."

"I want more than sex."

After another moment both were sitting upright, Hound's arms around Mirage as he just held him, his lips kissing his neck every so often. "I promise you."

Mirage said nothing. He offlined his optics and sank into Hound's warm embrace as the scout just stroked his side, his arms, up and down, lovingly.

"I love you," he heard him whisper. His optics onlined slowly and looked up at him.

"I love you too."

... ... ...

Prowl and Jazz sat in the same position, the tactician's arm around him snuggly along with the large berth sheet wrapped around them both as they sipped warm energon. Prowl would occasionally kiss the base of his lover's neck, his lips hot from the energon, but warm enough to send Jazz into a state of bliss.

No music played. They just spent the night together before they recharged, in each other's presence before Jazz had to leave in the morning. He and Bumblebee were permitted to leave tomorrow for the Nemesis here on Earth, as Prowl and the rest of the mechs scheduled for Cybertron wouldn't leave until the day after. Prowl would talk Blaster and Tracks through everything they needed to do for the sparklings after Jazz left, and would spend as much time as he could with them for his possibly last day with them.

Jazz of course wouldn't allow Prowl to think like that. He forced Prowl to tell himself he would come back. For the sparklings... For Jazz's sake. Primus knows how the saboteur would handle the situation if Prowl died on this mission. He would never forgive himself for not trying harder to make Prowl stay here... But now with his own mission to the Nemesis, what if something happened to _him?_ How would Prowl handle it? As perfect of a father he was to his sparklings, they still needed a mother. They needed _two._ One creator wouldn't cut it.

Jazz came back to reality as Prowl kissed his neck so softly. "You okay?"

He nodded and took a sip of his energon, still hot like he liked it. He curled the thin blanket around his shoulder tighter and rested his helm on Prowl's chassis.

... ... ...

Cliffjumper walked into his shared quarters and dimmed the lights. Bumblebee shifted on his berth on the opposite wall to stare at the red mech, and gave a soft smile.

"Sorry," Cliffjumper whispered.

"I wasn't offline."

"Oh. Good."

Bumblebee's optics flickered to focus on Cliffjumper's. "Why?"

"I wanted to... just... tell you something."

"Tell me what?"

"It's just... um..."

He stopped as he sat down on his own berth, far away from Bumblebee's but close enough to see every detail of his whole frame. That... _sweet,_ hot, little yellow frame...

_*Stop it,*_ he told himself. _*Focus.*_

"...I'm just... sad, we're not on the same mission together... like we usually are. You know... like best spy buddies."_  
_

Bumblebee laughed as he sat up. "I know, it surprises me too. But Optimus thinks Jazz needs to go, being head of Special Operations and whatnot."

Cliffjumper nodded and let his helm fall slightly downwards.

"Primus, I didn't think you liked it _that_ much," Bumblebee said after a while. "Why are you so depressed?"

"I'm not... It's just, we're good friends, right?"

"More like best friends."

"And... I guess I'm just gonna miss you."

Bumblebee just smiled. "You act like you're never gonna see me again or something, 'Cliff."

The red mech looked up and stood off the berth. Bumblebee's smile slightly dropped as Cliffjumper slowly neared him, optics a bit wide with worry as he sat down next to him.

"'Cliff?"

"I really like you, Bee. And with these missions being so dangerous, you're absolutely right."

"... About what?"

"I _am_ acting like I'm never gonna see you again."

Bumblebee huffed a bit of hot breath as Cliffjumper placed a servo on his cheek plate. Cliffjumper leaned in and kissed him.

Energy and arousal and adrenaline and _everything else_ shot through every circuit at the touch of their lips meeting. He couldn't believe this... What was happening? How... Why was Cliffjumper doing this? Why did he suddenly want so much more?

He had shared these quarters with the mech for Primus knew how long, and he's _just now_ making his move? When he has to leave the next morning, and might not even come back?

Something told him he just wanted to slide his servos all over that red frame, dig them into wires... make him moan. Oh _Primus..._ make him _overload..._

But Cliffjumper was doing nothing but passionately kissing him. His servo slid to the base of his neck, but that was it, until he slowly pulled away.

He only smiled when Bumblebee onlined his optics, revealing their aroused, purple color.

"I didn't mean to affect you like that..."

Bumblebee only chuckled as he sighed, and kissed him back again. "Why don't we make a night to remember."

And the rest was barely a blur... A night full of interfacing, rough and soft, passionate and kinky, full of moans and whimpers and kisses. Hot, passionate kisses, breaths, with overloads like being struck by lighting, as hard as both their hardened spikes put together.

* * *

The next morning Jazz kissed his femme at the entrance. He kissed his little mech, and then Prowl on the lips several times.

Bumblebee still held his helm from the night before, but Cliffjumper made no moves with all the mechs around them. He gave him a simple hug goodbye and watched him leave the Ark entrance.

"Remember everything for Blaster," Jazz spoke.

"I will, baby. I know everything. They'll be fine in their servos."

Jazz smiled and gave another light kiss.

"Jazz! Ready?" Bumblebee called.

Jazz huffed and Prowl gave him one last passionate kiss. "Be safe," Jazz told him, and with one last digit stroke across each sparkling and Prowl's murmured goodbyes, he turned and left the entrance, transformed and drove away with Bumblebee.

... ... ...

The joor after wasn't any less stressful for the tactician. He told Blaster and Tracks _everything..._ some things repeated to allow him more time to hold the sparklings.

"Prowl," Tracks smiled. "I know you'll miss them. I know it's hard. But they'll be fine, and so will you. And so will Jazz."

Prowl only sighed as he finally handed Tracks his little mech, and Metallica cooed. "I know... We just worry too much."

"Which is normal. Any creator would do the same," Blaster chirped.

Prowl heard Hound call his name from Omega Supreme about a mile away from where they stood. "Just... don't take your optics off them."

"We won't. We promise we'll care of them like they're our own."

Blaster looked up as Optimus and Hound waved to them.

"Thanks again," he spoke after a moment, and after one last kiss on her helm, Prowl handed his little femme to the boombox, and as they shared their goodbyes Prowl turned and headed towards Omega Supreme.

He met up with Hound as he kissed Mirage for the last time, and received a big hug from his older femme and hugged her back just as affectionately. "Bye Daddy," she said to him, making him kiss her cheek plate and murmur something into her little audio.  
Ironhide and Ratchet broke their kiss as he was summoned, and smiled and parted from his own little mech in the medic's arms.

Sunstreaker and Sideswipe wanted to play along, and each gave a passionate kiss to their shared lover Bluestreak. As much pleasurable pain they pounded into him quite often, he would miss the rough interfacing for as long as they were gone. He kissed each mech back just as lovingly.

Wheeljack and Perceptor came over next to Ratchet, with their calm and tiny mech wrapped warmly in Wheeljack's arms. Ironhide boarded the ship with Hound and Prowl, waving to their sparklings and those who would take of them as the door closed slowly in front of them.

Ironhide made sure the door was locked and took his place as copilot. Prowl still stood and looked out the door's window, at Blaster and Tracks still waving to them and moving the sparklings' arms to do the same. Hound watched as Mirage and Glazer waved to him, smiling, seeing how Ratchet stood there with his sparkling as well to watch them leave. It looked as if everyone was outside, waving goodbye to the six mechs headed towards Cybertron.

Everyone except Jazz and Bumblebee.

After they finally left Earth's atmosphere, Prowl took his place as pilot and sat next to Ironhide. He set the coordinates for Cybertron in case Omega needed to rest or lost control of his location system calculations, and sank down in his chair and sighed.

He looked out the windshield, for a long while, as the stars hurdled towards them in the dark space. It was just like the winter snow he would drive in some nights on Earth. The flurries flying at him, like he was in space, and the stars like he was still on Earth.  
On Earth... with Jazz and his sparklings... with his family. Where the only thing he had to worry about them was when they would crawl around a corner out of his sight. At least when they were under attack from the Decepticons, they were together.

"They'll be okay," he heard Ironhide say softly to him.

Prowl turned to the warrior and smiled back. "I hope so."

"Ultra Magnus will take good care of them. He's a good leader."

"That only worries me how Sentinel Prime will manage Autobot City when Magnus is on the Ark."

Ironhide chuckled very softly. "They'll manage."

Prowl looked down at the controls again, and back out the windshield. He flipped the switch to autopilot and laced his digits together in his lap, resting his helm against the back of his chair as the destination beckon flashed slowly and quietly.

Ironhide did the same. He offlined his optics and rested against the chair, thinking, wondering, hoping, that everything would be alright. He would tell himself that the whole trip. Everyone would, as they made their journey across the universe, to save to world. To save Earth. Their second home planet, after their first... After the planet they had once had to escape from.

To Cybertron, their final destination.

* * *

. NOT THE END .

. . ... . .


End file.
